Furies Promise
by Asteross
Summary: When Jason's sub was lost, he left more behind in England than a troubled past; he inadvertently left behind his fiance Alek. The one person with a stronger connection to the Gods than even Jason himself, though neither realize it yet. Alek will do anything to be with the man she loves, even if she has to tear down Olympus itself to stay by his side.
1. Chapter 1--Remember When

AN: I would like to take this opportunity to tell readers that this story is an AU. While it is based on the BBCs' series Atlantis, and is loosely based around the episodes', it will not necessarily follow them in a linear order. Please overlook any errors in grammar and punctuation as I am writing this on a laptop that only has a half working keyboard-I've attempted to correct them all, but any that remain are here to stay. This is my first attempt at FanFic so of course reviews are appreciated—both positive and [polite] constructive criticism, but no flames please. Atlantis & all primary characters belongs to the BBC, I own nothing other than my original OC's and story line. Any similarities with persons, events, themes, lyrics, or places either real or otherwise is unintended and should be considered as such, unless specifically cited in the footnotes.

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Furies Promise

Those who are touched by the gods are drawn to one another by forces they cannot control—High Priest Melas  
(BBC Atlantis—The Dying of the Light)

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Prologue

Bournemouth, Dorset County England

A chill breeze blew across the university campus, rustling the few bright orange and red leaves still on the trees despite it being the end of November, and momentarily lifting the thick sable colored curls that fell in waves to Alekto's waist. Thick perfectly arched brows and long thick dark lashes framed startlingly pale grey-blue eyes. Snug faded jeans, wool lined leather boots, and a baggy cream colored men's jumper beneath an equally baggy black leather men's jacket covered a supple willowy body while still hinting at the feminine curves underneath.

Alek was heading across the parking lot from the administration building having had to sign off on her final paperwork to receive her degree certificate by post. She'd still had a semester of graduate work to finish on her dissertation; having had to withdraw when Jason's submarine had been lost at the beginning of last spring, and her Nona had been adamant that Alek finish her education before leaving for Greece. Since she wasn't going to be in town—or the country for the commencement ceremony in a couple of weeks, she'd had to arrange to have everything mailed to her mum's house in Shoreditch. Continuing across campus, Alek scowled when her call went straight to voicemail; Mac must either be at the docks or he was deliberately avoiding her; though after the way her temper had been these past few months, she didn't really blame him if he was. Ever since Jason's submarine had been lost at the beginning of spring, Mac had tip-toed around Alek as if she were a bomb that might go off any moment. With a frustrated sigh she shoved the cell phone back into her jeans pocket. ' _It wasn't as if I was the one asking him to believe some cockin-bull story, I'd dreamed up as a coping mechanism for my grief',_ she grouched to herself for the thousandth time. No fantasy or denial hadn't been how the dark haired beauty had coped at all; although that was exactly what she had initially accused Mac of when he had first come to her with his wild tale of lost civilizations', treachery, and time travel months after Jason had been lost at sea.

As always when Alek' thoughts turned to her beloved fiancé, her heart clenched painfully and not for the first time in her life she cursed the eidetic memory that made it impossible to forget anything, as she absent mindedly twisted the engagement ring on her left hand. The ring was solid gold, featuring a carved crest resembling a set of bull horns or possibly an inverted crescent moon, inset with a sparkling sapphire of a clear deep blue. It was obviously extremely valuable as well as old, and Alekto had worried that she would lose or damage it; especially after Jason told her it had once belonged to his mum.

Jason's mother had died giving birth to him, or so he had been told; first by his father then later on by his godfather Mac. He had no memories of his mum and there were no pictures or tokens of her, other than the ring, nor had there ever been, if Mac were to be believed. At first Alek had been reluctant to take on the responsibility of safe-guarding Jason's sole link to the woman who gave birth to him. But when he had gently cupped her face and kissed her, telling her that she was his life, his future, the woman who owned his heart she had thrown her arms around him with a resounding YES, followed up with a kiss of her own, pouring all her love into it.

That had been on New Year's Eve, nearly two years ago. Alek and Jason were at a party with a few friends at the neighborhood pub close to campus and the house Jason and she shared. She had been surprised when Jason had suggested attending the party; having been a loner most of his life except for his best mate (Joey), Jason normally didn't like the attention (trouble) he inevitably seemed to attract in any situation involving large crowds and alcohol. It wasn't that he intentionally went looking for trouble, but a combination of gorgeous good looks coupled with the 'little boy lost' aura he possessed often attracted the attentions of drunken females intent on 'rescuing' him, and who invariably seemed to forget the jealous hulking boyfriends they were getting drunk with. When Jason had taken her aside moments before the ringing in of the New Year; dropping down to one knee to propose, Alek had thought maybe he was teasing or drunk himself, only becoming aware of just how serious he was when he pulled his mums ring out of his pocket. Once she'd tearfully accepted, they had gone to Mac's boat where Alek's family and Mac were waiting to celebrate.

Macs' boat was how Alek and Jason had met. At the time, they had both been enrolled in the Forensic Archaeology program at Bournemouth University. Jason had been a term ahead of Alek, and was specializing in materials recovery and conservation; while Alek specialized in skeletal analysis and anthropology. At the time Mac had been offering intern slots on his boat for a reasonable fee so Alek had jumped at the chance to get hands on experience from one of the best known research and recovery captains in the field before she was regulated to a sterile lab for the remainder of her university career. While she had been vaguely familiar with Jason's face from a few shared classes and the university library, (seriously with Jason's looks and adorable lop-sided grin she'd have to have been blind or made of stone not to be), he had been slightly taken aback by the frankly gorgeous young woman who stumbled aboard his godfathers boat packing a small mountain of charts, research equipment, and specimen containers.

"Are you helping deliver equipment for someone?" he'd blurted awkwardly, not believing for a moment this clumsy albeit gorgeous young woman would willingly choose to spend several weeks crammed up with a half dozen rough and tumble research/sailors. Besides, Mac had a reputation for not being the most patient man, especially where the safety and well-being of his beloved boat, (not to mention godson) were concerned. Jason couldn't bring himself to believe Mac would knowingly allow a young woman who couldn't seem to cross the deck with her own gear spend the entire summer with them on his beloved boat.

' _Please don't let this be one of those sexist guys who think women are shite at science_ ' Alek had groaned internally, sending a silent plea to whichever deity might be listening. Dumping the majority of the equipment and containers into the weather proof storage bins on deck bearing the number she'd been assigned in the information packet sent by her department, Alek hefted her seamans bag a bit higher on her shoulder with a sigh before sticking her hand out to the flustered young man. "Hello," she flashed him her brightest smile. "I'm one of the new interns. Are you a crewman, or student?"

At the sound of her husky voice, Jason's breath momentarily hitched as his lungs temporarily forgot to keep up with his brain. ' _Bloody hell, she's beautiful_ ', he thought, taking in the long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, the luscious full lips, and a golden hued complexion that reminded him of the people he saw in the villages along the Aegean that Mac always visited during their summer dive work. Realizing she was scrutinizing him as frankly as he was her, Jason ducked his head embarrassed, "Yeah, my name's Jason. I'm Macs' senior intern", he stammered, trying to catch up on the thread of conversation, "I was told to be on the lookout for Alex?" "It's actually 'Alek' with a 'k' short for Alekto," she corrected, handing him the personal info packet that had been included with her intern application. "Its Greek f—" "For ' _unceasing_ ' right?" Jason interrupted, taking the finished packet and giving her an adorable lop-sided grin. Alekto blinked then shook herself internally, ' _that smile should come with a warning label_ ' she thought to herself warily, "Yeah, I was named for my grand-mother. Mum says Nona is as stubborn as a bulldog when she sets her mind to something; she almost never gives up." "Are you as tenacious as your grandmother then?" Jason asked, unable to curb the strange curiosity the brunette beauty had aroused. Alek smiled in spite of herself, "More so than I like to admit." She chuckled, eyes twinkling with amusement. Trying to ignore the slightly weird tingle she was causing in his stomach, Jason held open the door to the lower decks of the boat, stooping to pick up the Seaman's' bag that Alekto had let slide off her shoulder.

"Let me get that for you" he insisted when Alekto started to automatically reach for the bag, "It's a bit of an obstacle course down here at the moment. Mac leaves it up to me and the other interns to sort out all the equipment and gear at the start of every dive season. He says it's easier doing things that way than having to take the time to explain where everything is before every dive." "Are the others already here, or am I the first to arrive?" Alek asked relinquishing the bag and following Jason down the passageway. "It's just us two this trip" Jason replied over his shoulder as he lead the way down the steps and into the cramped hallway below deck, "Mac is helping out a friend from the Maritime Archaeology Trust with the Bouldnor Cliff site off the Isle of Wight. Since it's a favor and there's not going to be any recovery for profit, he couldn't afford to take on more than one student." Alek arched a delicate brow at him, "Then why am I here, if he can only afford one student this trip?"

Jason dropped his head down toward his chest, his unruly curls falling forward to cover the faint blush that stained his cheeks, "Well, you see I don't really count. Mac's my godfather so I'm with him on the boat every summer anyway." By this time, Jason had stopped at a door about halfway down the passage. Opening the door, he motioned Alek in ahead of him before setting the bag he carried on one of the two stacks of double bunks. Other than the beds, the only other furniture was four metal lockers like the ones usually found in a gym or secondary school. Looking around the room and then at Alek with a slight frown on his face, Jason ducked his head and sighed, "I don't want to sound like a prat, honestly," he said considering Alek cautiously, "but you see, nobody realized you were a girl—Mac's never had a girl apply for one of his spots before, and well…see…we're not really set up for a division of the sexes, so…" He trailed off watching Alek carefully like he half expected her to explode at him. "I suppose the only solution is for you to take the interns cabin and I'll kip with Mac." he finished in a rush.

"Nonsense," Alek replied blandly, one brow arched as she regarded him curiously, "are you some sort of closet pervert? No? Then I see no reason why two grown professional adults should have a problem sharing a room" she told him firmly. "I mean it's not like we're going to be sharing a bed, and I'm sure showering schedules can be arranged so that no one need be embarrassed. Besides, Captain Mac must have known I was female when he accepted my application for this term; at least I was told the final decision rested with him, so what's the problem? I can trust you can't I?" Alek smiled good naturedly to take any sting out of her words. "Of course you can trust me!" Jason exclaimed, his eyes widening like a lost puppies and looking slightly affronted that he might be considered untrustworthy around anyone much less a woman. After a moment's reflection, Jason decided she had a point. Mac had chosen her application from the two dozen or more he'd received from the department head last term, so there must obviously be more to her than had first appeared to the brunette young man. Shrugging, he decided to just roll with the situation; after all how bad could it possibly be? "Ok, if you're sure," he replied, "now would you like a tour of the rest of the boat? We still have a couple of hours before we disembark so now would be the best time to get it out of the way." Alek nodded, following him back out into the passageway.

They wandered about the boat, Jason showing Alek the mini sub with its reticulated arms used for recovering sunken artifacts, the small lab used to do any initial analysis required, the tiny infirmary, the bathroom facilities, and finally winding up in the galley. When they reached the minuscule kitchen off the dining area, Jason gave Alek a small rather nervous smile, "I should warn you now; we're each expected to take a turn at making dinner. A few of the guys are pretty decent cooks; I'm not too bad at things like bangers and mash, or shepherd's pie and Mac can make the best burgers around, but anything more complicated than that I wouldn't recommend trying, at least not if Mac or I are doing the cooking."

Alek brightened, she might not be a sailor, but here at least she was on firm ground. Her Nona had insisted Alekto learn how to properly cook before going off to university, reasoning that at least then she needn't worry about her granddaughter starving or living on takeaway all the time. "Tell you what," Alek offered the brunette young man, "I'll take my turn tonight making dinner while there's nothing relatively exciting going on, then after dinner you can tell me more about the dig we'll be exploring and what types of artifacts will likely be recovered." Jason tried to protest "That'd be great but you really don't have to; most people need some time to settle in their first time out—from the seasickness I mean. I know I did" he admitted honestly. "I've been on a ship before," Alek assured him, "I went on a cruise liner last summer as a bride's maid for one of my friends. Besides it'll give me a chance to get familiar with your kitchen and I might even be persuaded to make dessert." she coaxed. Jason's eyes lit up at the mention of dessert even as he tried to assure her that cooking her first night aboard wasn't necessary. "Really its fine," she assured him, "the sooner I get acquainted with your stove the better for all our pallets." "Alright you've got a deal," Jason agreed readily, "I'll show you where everything is and if you need help, I'll be just out in the dining area finishing up some charts for Mac." Jason showed Alek the big walk-in freezer and pantry, pointing out how all the various drawers, cabinets, and cupboards were labeled with its particular contents. Leaning a hip against the galley door, Jason watched the young woman bustle around the small kitchen space accustoming herself to where everything was located before he slipped out to work on the charts and topography maps Mac would need later.

Alek went about opening drawers and cabinets noting with pleasure that even though it wasn't a large vessel, the ships galley was well stocked with everything a nutritious albeit simple diet needed to provide for hungry sailors. Deciding nothing curbed hunger like her mum's carb and protein laden spaghetti and meatballs; she quickly set about combining ground beef, turkey, eggs and assorted spices in a mixing bowl. After rolling out about four dozen meatballs, she washed her hands and then put on a stockpot of water to boil along with a dash of salt before starting the first couple dozen meatballs in a large iron skillet. That done, she quickly mixed a container of garlic butter then sliced thick slices of crusty French bread slathering each one with the garlic spread and placing it on a cookie sheet to toast later. Turning the sizzling meatballs, she moved next to chop up mixed fresh greens, feta and tomatoes for a salad tossing it with a simple vinaigrette dressing. Finished with the salad, she carefully removed the first skillet full of meatballs placing them in a colander set over paper towels to drain away the excess grease before popping the remaining meatballs into the hot skillet. Noticing the water boiling, she dropped the noodles into the pot before covering it with a lid and lowering the temperature slightly.

Now it was time to start thinking about dessert. Reasoning that everyone loved chocolate, Alek set about whipping up a batch of brownies, then just to be on the safe side she put together a mixed berry fruit tart from frozen berries she found in the freezer. Sliding the brownies and tart into the oven, she gave the spaghetti a quick stir and then scooped the last of the meatballs into the strainer to drain before sliding the skillet off the burner. Unfortunately there wasn't time for homemade sauce but hopefully no one would mind too much. Transferring the meatballs into a pot she poured canned sauce over them and turned the burner on low just to keep them warm. Her nose told her it was time to check the dessert, peaking into the oven she checked the brownies and found them firm to the touch as well as the tart being golden brown and bubbly; quickly sliding them both out to cool on a counter, she popped in the garlic bread to toast.

She was just tossing the noodles with some olive oil when Jason poked his head in the galley door with an appreciative sniff, "That smells absolutely amazing!" Alek laughed, like any good cook she was pleased when her efforts were appreciated. "Good because it's nearly done. Can you call everyone while I finish this up?" Jason hit the boats intercom near the door. "Hey Mac," [Yeah Jas…What's up?] "Dinner's ready". There was a pause, [Shepherd's pie again?] "Nah, the new intern cooked." Jason grinned mischievously at Alek. [On my way] They heard a ship wide announcement that dinner was in the galley dining area for anyone who wanted it.

"Come on we better get all this out there, the crew will be in here in shifts as they finish up loading equipment." Jason told Alek, grabbing the pot of pasta and meatballs. Between the two of them they got everything on the long dining table before Mac or any of the crew arrived. Alek was setting the last plate down when Mac came into the room. She quickly introduced herself and shook Mac's hand before taking the chair Jason held out for her. He and Jason both complimented her on the meal, though Jason seemed particularly pleased with the tart and brownies. Mac grinned fondly at his godson "Even when he was a lad, Jason always loved dessert more than anything." "Mac!" Jason hissed going a bit red in the face. "What?" the older man replied innocently, "It's true, dessert bribery was the only way I could get you to eat a vegetable, and even that didn't get you to eat your string beans."

Jason blushed deeper as he rose from the table and began clearing the dirty dishes in preparation for the next shift of hungry crewmen. "Nothing is worth string beans," He mumbled to himself though Alek still heard him. "I feel your pain" she whispered quietly as she started to help clear the table, "Nona was forever trying to get me to eat lima beans!" Jason grinned when he noticed the grimace on her face, "So how'd she get you to eat them?" "She gave me a choice between them or boiled spinach!" Alek replied with disgust. Mac, who'd been sitting and watching the two young people, snorted into his glass at the twin looks of horror on their faces "Wish I'd have thought of that" he muttered. "Nah, Mac, you're not that devious" Jason said, flashing Alek another one of his adorable lop-sided grins. Alek ducked her head and returned the smile. This was gonna be a great summer, she could just feel it.


	2. Chapter 2--What Have You Got To Lose

AN: WARNING: The following chapter contains situations that may act as triggers. Anyone suffering from mental disabilities, abuse or from attempted suicide may be advised to not read the following. Rated 'M' just to be on the safe side and as always, Atlantis and all its core characters are owned by the BBC. I own nothing other than my original OC's and story-line.

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 _ **Chapter 2—what have you got to lose**_

Jason and she had become friends that summer; something she later learned was a rare occurrence. There were only a select few that could claim more than a professional or academic relationship with him and Alekto was oddly grateful to be able to count herself among them. Over time they progressed from casual friends and study partners, to close friends. By the anniversary of their first meeting, they had begun to date; and by the end of Jason's' graduation a year later, were engaged. After that it seemed like the natural thing to do to move in together. There had been so much love in that golden time; she and Jason had planned their wedding in between her classes and Jason being away with Mac on the boat. Well mostly Alek did the planning, Jason helped were ever he could when he was home, and they'd had a blast at the cake tasting. He'd teased her saying if he'd known about getting to eat all the free cake; he'd have proposed a lot sooner.

Alek got lonely at times rattling around their small flat when Jason was gone to whatever part of the world Macs' recovery expeditions took him, but he always called her at least a couple of times a week. This past spring was supposed to be the last time he was to go out this year; what with Aleks' graduation at the end of spring and then the wedding in the fall. He and Mac had been on an expedition off the coast of Greece, and had been just two weeks away from heading home. Alek had been spending every spare moment either in the university libraries polishing up the final touches to her dissertation, or working with her mum and Nona on the wedding plans when the accident occurred.

Alek shivered recalling that nightmare day. A campus policeman had found her in one of the libraries and told her she needed to go home, there was an emergency. Alek had done just that, grisly images of auto accidents involving her Mum, or heart failure claiming her Nona running through her mind. It simply never occurred to her that it might have anything to do with Jason, until she'd reached the house and found both her mum and Nona waiting for her. It wasn't until Mac stepped out of the tiny kitchen, his eyes red rimmed and haunted, that she'd felt the first cold prickles of fear run up her spine.

"What's happened, the campus police said there was an emergency?" she looked first at Mac, then her Mum confused. "Where's Jason" she demanded, slightly frantic as the earlier fear at seeing Mac's broken expression started to form a knot in her stomach, "is he in hospital?" Silent tears began to course down Mac's cheeks as he dropped his head and turned away, unable to face having to tell her the awful truth. Alek paled, "Mac what's happened! Where's Jason!" her voice rose shrilly with each word; it was starting to get hard to breath. She jumped, startled when her grandmother took hold of her shoulders, and guided her to a seat on the small sofa, "Nona please", she begged, the fear rising to nearly choke her, "please tell me he's alright." The silver haired woman held Alek's hand clasped between both her own, trying to impart some of the strength years of experience and loss had instilled. "Alekto, sweetheart, there's been… an accident—with Jason's' submarine…I'm…I'm afraid it's been lost at sea," her grandmother admitted sorrowfully. The words were dropping like stones into Aleks' stomach, but somehow her brain seems unable to grasp their meaning, "What…what happened?" Alek asked frowning and shaking her head; there was a strange buzzing in her ears that was making it impossible to hear what the others were saying, and a grayish haze had begun to cloud her vision, "What did you say?" "Alek?...Sweetheart? Are you OK? Mac help!" Nona cried, her voice sounding as if she was speaking from the end of a long tunnel, as the grey in Alek's vision turned to black and she tipped into unconsciousness.

Alek had come to lying on the sofa and when Mac had told her the truth of why he and Jason and been in Greece, and how Jason's' sub was lost during his search for the wreckage of his father's earlier accident all those years ago, she'd felt an uncontrollable sense of rage and despair. "How could you have done that!" she screamed at Mac, "How could you let him make that dive—you knew how bloody dangerous that stretch of sea was!" Mac held his hands out entreatingly, trying to make her understand, "He was determined Alek. He was convinced he couldn't start a new life with you until he'd put the ghosts of his past to rest. I'm so sorry, I never thought this could happen—you know how experienced Jason was with dives, he was one of the best in the business" "SO WAS ACE!" she shouted, hurling a nearby vase against the wall, "but that didn't stop him getting killed either did it?! Now Jason's dead too—are you happy now you sodding piece of shite! They're both dead and it's YOUR FAULT!" something snapped inside her brain and she began destroying everything she could lay hands on in the room, hurling most of it at Mac's head until finally her Mum had been forced to slap her hard across both cheeks to snap her out of her fury.

For just an instant, Alek felt her rage and sorrow turn against her mum, but then the crushing weight of it turned inward and she slid to her knees on the floor as great wracking sobs shook her frame. Together her mum and Nona managed to get her up and into the bedroom where they forced her to lie on the bed. Her mum brought a glass of water and two pills that Alek swallowed without even looking at them. Not long after, she slipped into a restless sleep, haunted by dreams of being trapped in the cold dark sub alone as black water steadily rose around her, until she woke screaming Jason's name. She spent the remainder of the night huddled beneath the covers wrapped in one of Jason't jumpers waiting for daylight. The following weeks had been the worst of Alek's life, every time she closed her eyes she would be haunted by the dream, only to wake screaming Jason's name. During the days she'd gone silent, refusing to speak to anyone. All through Jason's memorial service, as friends and colleagues came to express their sympathies, it was her mum that had had to take their hands and murmur thanks, as Alek sat lost and silent.

In the weeks afterward, she barely slept for fear of what she'd see every time she closed her eyes. Gradually she grew gaunter, haggard and hollow eyed; sitting or lying for hours clutching Jason's favorite jumper, refusing to eat unless forced to and then only enough to barely keep a bird alive. Finally the morning arrived when her Mum found her on the floor by the sofa, a bottle of sleeping pills scattered over the carpet along with an overturned bottle of bourbon. A&E had rushed her to hospital where doctors pumped her stomach before admitting her for psychiatric trauma. At first she made no progress, not caring if she ever recovered, but as the days turned to weeks, she slowly began the process of trying to put her life back together if only so her family and the doctors would leave her in peace. After nearly three months, she managed to convince her shrink that she was no longer a threat to herself and was allowed to go home, though she still had to report for weekly sessions with a therapist. It became surprisingly easy to say all the right things to convince people she was on the road to recovery; she even had a session where she 'forgave' Mac. Six months after that horrible day she lost Jason, she was officially released from treatment and allowed to go on with her life.

After that Alek went to her classes, work, and home; all while studiously ignoring the pitying gazes' of friends, professors, and co-workers alike. She still slept very little, ate only enough to ensure she didn't end up back in hospital, but otherwise carried on living, albeit only as a shadow of who she'd been. Her family and Mac watched helplessly as she seemed to drift through her life unapproachable and uncaring day after day; each of them praying desperately that time would eventually heal her brokenness. It wasn't until she came home one day in mid-fall to discover Mac completely pissed in her kitchen that the first cracks in the steel plating she'd surrounded herself with began to show. Mac had been sitting at the small kitchen table, brochures, plane tickets, and hotel reservations spread out before him; staring blankly at an itinerary detailing the honeymoon vacation, Jason had booked as a surprise for Alek after their wedding.

Staring at Alek over the top of the bourbon bottle he'd nearly drained, he finally found the courage to speak, "I'm so sorry Alek, I never meant you to see this" he sobbed, "I was going to be gone before you got home…before you saw…You were right. It _was_ my fault, Jason should be here. I should never have allowed him to take the sub down, but he was so determined; threatened to go to another dive team if I didn't give in, but I knew… _knew_ there was a chance he'd be pulled back there. I just refused to consider the possibility it could happen again." Alek silently considered Mac a moment before opening a cabinet and pulling down a small square box from an upper shelf along with a glass. Setting the box on the counter, she picked up the bottle of bourbon from in front of Mac and poured a double shot, tossing it back in one go before opening the box and pulling out a card.

Staring at it for a moment, she looked at Mac. "These arrived right after the memorial" she told him tonelessly, "I…I didn't have the heart to toss them out—Jason ordered them for us." Running her fingertips over the raised embossing on the card, she continued, "He'd worked for days on the layout; he wanted them to be perfect, since it…it was going to 'be forever'." Mac took the heavy weight, ivory colored card and stared at it. The front featured the silhouettes of a man and woman standing on a beach holding hands against the backdrop of the sea with a sailboat visible in the distance and sea birds soaring overhead, the whole framed by sprays of wildflowers. Inside the card, beautiful embossed script gave the details of the nuptials.

 _You are cordially invited_  
 _To_  
 _Celebrate the Wedding_  
 _Of_  
 _Alekto Elisabet Stevenson_  
 _&_  
 _Jason Alexandros Donnelly_

 _23rd November, 2016 Six O 'Clock p.m._  
 _At_  
 _St Peter's Church_  
 _Hinton Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset BH1 2EE_

 _Reception to follow in parish hall_

As Mac stared silently at the invitation, Alek swallowed another generous shot of bourbon as she watched him run his fingers lightly over the embossed vine and wildflower pattern pressed into the heavy weight parchment. "I forgot a-about these", she murmured quietly, "I cancelled everything after the memorial: the dress, church, cake, everything." The bourbon was beginning to thaw the frozen lump in her throat, "I even returned…J-Jason's' tux." She smiled a watery smile at Mac, "but then these arrived right after I got out of hospital. I tried to throw them out, even made it to the curb with the bin bag once but then I just couldn't—he'd worked s-so hard on them you see…", her voice hitched on that last bit, but all things considered she felt she was doing fairly well dammit.

"It's my fault he's not here now Alek but I swear to you I'm going to fix this if it's the last thing I ever do!" Mac whispered thumping his glass down on the table. Alek grimaced, ' _How did Mac expect to fix this? He couldn't bring Jason back from the dead, no one could; or did he plan on trying to recover a body?_ ' While she understood many people might need that for closure, she also knew it would be nigh onto impossible after this long; besides Alek preferred to remember Jason as he was the last morning she saw him, tousled hair, sleepy eyed, but also excited. All this filtered through Alek's mind before suddenly something Mac had said earlier occurred to her "Hang on a minute, what did you mean exactly when you said you ' _knew there was a chance it would happen again_ '? That ' _he'd be pulled back there_ '? Pulled where? By whom?" Mac sighed, miserably "Have a seat Alek, this is going to take a while" he replied, using the toe of his boot to scoot a chair out. Alek sat down as Mac refilled her glass "This whole sorry mess started a couple of thousand years ago…"

As the minutes stretched into hours, Mac told Alek the story he'd been told by Jason's father Ace, years after he and Mac had become close friends. Ace had explained that the reason he seemed to have an uncanny ability to find sunken treasure in and around the Mediterranean was because he and Jason were actually from the far distant past and had ended up somehow coming through a rip in time trying to escape a civil war that had been tearing their country to shreds. Alek hadn't believed a word of what Mac told her of course, she just assumed that if it wasn't some fantasy he'd dreamed up to deal with his sense of guilt, then it had been Ace taking the piss out of his best mate during one of their frequent pub crawls.

What worried her though was the complete conviction Mac seemed to have in the story; going so far as to outline a rough plan he had for trying to find this ' _rip in_ _time_ ' and bring Jason home. For several days after Mac had told her the 'true' story of Jason's' life, she'd seriously considered the possibility that Mac had gone off his rocker and was in need of meds more than she was. ' _Was this how she'd been when she'd had her meltdown?_ ' she'd wondered. It wasn't until she'd had a serious talk with her grandmother when Mac threatened to go off on his own that Alek agreed to go along with the story and try to figure out a way to help. Nona had pointed out that while Atlantis was widely believed a myth, there _was_ scientific evidence of a sunken city off the coast of Greece. When Alek reminded her that this evidence in no way indicated that the city was _Atlantis_ and that the only mention of Atlantis was a _myth_ written nearly twenty-four hundred years ago, Nona had pointed out that over two billion people professed believing in Christianity with no harder evidence than ancient "stories" that were nearly as old. Her grandmother also pointed out that it was the stories and myths from their homeland that Alek had loved so much growing up and was partly why she went into her chosen field. Alek had refrained (with difficulty) from pointing out that England was her native country not Greece; she understood what Nona was trying to say. Mac needed to believe in something, to hold on to something he could connect with Jason regardless of how tenuous that was.

So together Mac and Alek, (once she decided to try to help him) had poured over maps, weather charts, and every scrap of literature or data they could scavenge that might have even the slightest connection with Jason's story or Atlantis. Slowly despite Alek's doubts, a pattern began to emerge; it wasn't all that clear to Alek mind you, but it seemed to make sense to Mac. He showed her reports of strange weather patterns recorded by weather satellites from around the globe as well as N.O.A.A. buoys off the Grecian coast near where Jason's sub had been lost. Digging through weather archives revealed the same patterns from twenty years ago when Ace's sub went down, and again four years previously when, according to Mac's story, Jason and his dad first arrived here from Atlantis. All showed the same data, and seemed to follow peculiar lines on a map grid though without any particular rhyme or reason they could determine. It wasn't until weeks later, when Alek's Mum was visiting and noticed the large map of the Mediterranean tacked to a wall in the dining room, covered with differing colored pins and sting that all the puzzle pieces fit together. When her mum idly wondered if Alek was trying to trace her family tree, Alek thought she'd misheard at first. Noticing the odd looks from Mac and Alek, her mum had shrugged, stating the pins and string pattern looked like Nona's ley line map used to trace their _oikos_ (family) as far back as possible.

A light bulb went off in Alek's head; snatching up the phone she punched in Nona's number all while muttering to herself about being too blind to see the forests for the trees. Nona apparently had been near the phone, because she answered almost before the phone rang. Alek spoke briefly with her and then rang off, telling the others that Nona was bringing her oikos "map" over. When Nona arrived over an hour later, and her oikos map was tacked up beside Macs', the line patterns were a near perfect match. Nevertheless, the majority of the patterns on both maps failed to follow any logical pattern of longitude or latitude so they still had no way to follow it.

When Aleks' mum asked what all this was about Mac sent a worried glance to Alek seeking silent permission before speaking. After a brief nod from her, Mac launched into the whole sorry tale, showing the two older women all the data he and Alek had compiled on their map and how they hoped to come up with a plan to get Jason back. Halfway through the story, Aleks' mum had shook her head stating they were going to need something stronger than tea to get through this mess and headed into the kitchen to raid the wine cabinet, leaving Mac and Alek to finish the tale with Nona. She came back with three glasses of wine and a tumbler glass of bourbon for Mac, passing them around before resuming her seat on the sofa by Alek just as Mac finished his story.

Nona looked at Alek speculatively, "I always knew there was something special about Jason but I would never have guessed he was ' _touched_ ' like you Alekto". Alek looked askance at Nona, "Excuse me? Just what's that supposed to mean?" "It means Nona believes both you and Jason have been especially blessed—singled out by the 'old gods' for a higher purpose" her mum replied. "What like a destiny?" Alek asked skeptically. "It's more of a _fate_ dear; ' _destiny_ ' gives the illusion of choice where really none exists" Nona stated matter-of-factly. Nona went on to explain that the lines weren't traditional map coordinates, but were something call 'ley' lines; and while a few followed along traditional map lines, like the ones bisecting the earth into four equal parts, the majority marked the natural flow of the earths energy to nodes or 'hotspots' where the energy collected.

"What kind of ' _energy_ '?" Mac asked curiously, studying the maps seriously. "The kind of energy used for magic" Nona replied sensibly like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. Alek resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but Mac seemed to take the proclamation in stride. "So what are these?" he asked indicating the dozens of tiny labels on Nonas' map. Looking closer, Alek saw the label stickers followed along the marked lines, each with a date in either blue or red ink. Nona explained how the blue labels marked the date and place where each daughter named 'Alekto' had been born in their family; the oldest labels went back as far as the early 1500's. When Mac asked about the red labels, Nona explained that those labels indicated when [usually within days] and where [always within 100 km of a birth] some form of natural disaster to whatever degree coincided with each birth; while not all the blue stickers were on a ley line, every single red one was.

Alek searched the map until she found a blue sticker with her birthdate on it. It was next to a red sticker that indicated an avalanche that had occurred near Saint-Martin in France where her parents had been living at the time that had took over one hundred lives. She scowled at this; no matter how far-fetched her grandmother's story sounded she didn't like thinking she might be somehow responsible for innocent peoples suffering. "Even if I believed all this," Alek said glaring at the maps, "that still doesn't have anything to do with Jason. I didn't meet him until university, so how could our families curse have anything to do with him being lost?" "It may not have anything to do with Jason being lost or with he and his father ending up here in the first place" Nona replied honestly, "but I do think its providential that of all the places Jason could have ended up, and all the girls he could have met; he wound up in the only place in the world he could have met a descendant of the Erinyes." "The what?" Mac asked confused. "Oh, please" Alek huffed, "not this old tale again—honestly Nona…" Nona held up a hand to forestall the denial before Alek could start. "Mac deserves to hear this Alek, after all if we're to figure out a way of rescuing Jason every base needs to be covered."

Turning to Mac, the old woman began to explain the family's "myth"; according to legend the family was originally descended from three sisters [Megaera—the grudging, Tisiphone—the angry, and Alekto—the avenger], dating all the way back to ancient Greece who had been priestesses of the Goddess Nyx. The legend told how the three sisters were all raped and murdered in the temple of the Goddess by a (now long forgotten) prince when they had each refused to marry him. Enraged by the princes arrogance in desecrating her temple and murdering her priestesses, Nyx resurrected the sisters as her own daughters making them Demi-Goddesses so that they might avenge themselves and Nyx; thus were the Erinyes, or Furies as they became known, born. Many years later, the youngest sister, (Alekto), fell in love with a young soldier she found wounded and later bore him a child, a daughter. Hence was the family always traced though the maternal line, and always had at least one daughter named 'Alekto' every 3rd generation to honor the original matriarch of the family.

"So you see, it was Jason's fate that his father would bring him though a gateway here so he could grow up safe," the old woman smiled at Alek, "just as it was his fate to meet and fall in love with you Alekto. Out of all the places and times the Gods could have chosen, they chose here, because this was the only place Jason could have met you, the one person who can ultimately save him." Even as Alek scrambled to marshal a logical defense against Nona's outlandish prophecy, she felt the unconscious weight of a great responsibility settle on her shoulders like a millstone, as she gazed into the sympathetic knowing eyes of her mum and Nona. "How does any of this help us though Nona?" Alek groused, "Even if Jason was taken to this lost city, and I'm still not convinced that's what happened mind you, how does all this help us bring him back?"

Waving toward the vast stretch of the Mediterranean Sea on the maps, Alek continued logically, "I mean it's not like I can rescue Jason the same way he disappeared. For starters, I don't know how to pilot a submarine, and even if I could somehow learn, I don't have the first clue how ley lines, or magical gateways work. It's just insane!" Frustrated with the whole situation she began pacing the confines of the small living room, before flopping down on the edge of the sofa once more and continuing, "Say for a moment that I manage to somehow figure out those two, who's to say Jason wouldn't just appear in the water at the bottom of the ocean instead of in the sub and die again!" Turning a furious glare at on the two older women and pointing an accusatory finger at Nona, she growled, "As a matter of fact, if I was supposed to have this 'great destiny'—" "Tone Alek" her mum warned lightly "and its fate not destiny." "Fine then, ' _fate_ ' or whatever," Alek huffed, trying hard to keep a rein on her temper "that still doesn't explain why I'm only now hearing about all this. Why now? Why not _before_ the accident, or hell why not before I met Jason. Then all this could've been avoided!"

Nona smiled at her granddaughter, "Jason may not have died at all," she answered reasonably, "but aside from that, as to the ' _why now_ ', you have grown up on these stories Alekto. It's not our fault that you chose cold science over your people's history." Alek ducked her head, unable to withstand her grandmothers mild reproof as the old woman continued, "As for the how, well that should be obvious, it is the Gods who control the gateways, and it is to them you must make your plea." Rising to tap one of the labels Nona motioned Alek and Mac over; the label was stuck over the eastern coastline roughly in the middle of the Peloponnesian peninsula of Western Greece. Rather than a normal date in blue or red ink, this label showed a set of coordinates in bold black type. "This gives the exact location of the ruins of the temple of the Goddess Nyx and her daughters the Erinyes." Nona told the pair. "The ruins are a closely guarded secret of the women of our family, and I do not share it lightly," She regarded Mac in particular before continuing, "So there must be NO pillaging of any kind." Nona stared hard at Mac until he ducked his head in agreement.

"The temple lies over the second largest node of ley energy in that part of the world" she continued, "the first being under the sea now." She indicated another black label in the middle of Aegean; it was directly over the location of Jason's accident. "You must travel to Patras; from there you will follow the coastal road to the village of Rizomylos." The silver haired woman pointed out a small city before continuing to trace a wrinkled fingertip along the coast road, "Rizomylos is approximately fifty kilometers away from Patras, and rests on the bones of an ancient city called Helios. There is a seer there, she will arrange for you (Alek) to get to the temple and help you to contact the Goddess. The temple is a further five kilometers north-east past Helios along the river Selinountos within the borders of the Taíyetos mountains." "What kind of ritual exactly?" Mac asked suspiciously. Nona shook her head regretfully, "I'm afraid I cannot reveal that to you Mac, it is forbidden for any outside the priesthood of the Goddess to know."

"Hang on a minute" blurted Alek, "this is crazy and I can't believe I'm actually having to say this but let's all assume for a moment this is all real, instead of me not being the only one in the room who needs meds—I'm no priestess either! Nor do I know any Goddess summoning ritual thingies." Her mum just rolled her eyes and sighed, "Alek, sweetie, do you happen to recall the 'lullaby' mummy and Nona used to sing when you were sick?" Alek thought a moment frowning, "Yes I think so, but it really wasn't a song mum, more of a chant really; but how is that—" "Just recite it dear—in Greek please, just so we can be sure you haven't forgotten any words." It was Aleks turn to roll her eyes as she wondered if she should tell her mum that Macs' Greek was probably better than Aleks' own. Closing her eyes in concentration, she began humming softly until she was sure she had the tune right before speaking in a singsong voice like the kind used in children's nursery rhymes or rounds.

 _Akoúste me o̱ Theá Nyx déomai_ ,  
( **Hear me oh Goddess Nyx I beseech thee** )  
 _Écho̱ ti̱n kóri̱ sou, sou iéreia [Alekto],_  
( **I thy daughter, thy priestess [Alekto]** ,)  
 _Eímai kálese píso̱ gia na anazi̱tí̱soun dikaiosýni̱ sto ónomá sou._  
( **I am called forth to seek justice in thy name**.)  
 _Chreó̱no̱ sou o̱ Theá Nyx_  
( **I charge thee oh Goddess Nyx** )  
 _na katastí̱sei se ména ti̱ dýnami̱ pou apaiteítai_  
( **to render unto me the power I require** )  
 _étsi ó̱ste na boró̱ na exisorropí̱sei tis theíes klímakes to̱n ischyró̱n Día_  
( **so that I may balance the divine scales of mighty Zeus** )  
o opoíos tha mas krínei ólous sto télos,  
( **who will judge us all in the end.** )  
 _kai gia mia akómi̱ forá thési̱ sti̱n kardiá mou  
_ ( **and to once more place in my hear** t)  
 _óti polytimótero kosmí̱mata—agapoún.  
_ ( **that most precious of jewels—love**.)

Nona had her recite the whole thing half a dozen times before she was satisfied Alek knew it by heart. "Once you're at the village, you must continue alone; whatever happens Mac _cannot_ go with you to the temple" the elderly woman warned Alek. "The seer will give you the final instructions and the things you'll need to complete the summoning; know this however, while I truly believe that this is your best—your _only_ hope of ever seeing Jason again, you _must_ _not_ attempt this unless you are willing, _truly willing_ , to accept whatever outcome the Goddess deems fit to bestow."

Alek scowled, this wasn't how she'd envisioned this whole scene playing out. In fact it was going as far south as she could possibly stomach. When she'd originally started down this path, she'd thought it might go on for a few days, maybe a week at most and then Mac would realize how ridiculous the whole thing was then break down and actually grieve for Jason's loss and the part he Mac had played in it. She'd even decided to actually forgive him instead of just pretending like she'd originally down to get out of psych. It had been a stroke of genius when her mum had come along and mentioned the resemblance to the old map of Nona's and Alek had been sure once her practical no-nonsense grandmother had shown up that surely she'd snap Mac out of his delusions if anyone could. Unfortunately that wasn't how things seemed to be going; not only was the others taking all this completely seriously, they obviously were expecting her to go along with this whole insane venture. The more Alek thought about it, the angrier she got. These were the same people who not half a year ago had had her committed after she'd briefly lost the plot after losing the one person most important to her. Rounding on the three, she gave full voice to the inner rage that had been secretly burning ever since finding Mac drunk in her kitchen all those weeks ago, "This is madness! Absolute bloody insanity! First you two" she pointed accusingly at her mum and Nona, "have me committed to Bedlam for six weeks because I stopped talking for a while after my fiancé dies!" "Then you" she snarled at Mac, "decide to wait 'til _**after**_ Jason's gone, _**after**_ I've fallen apart and _**after**_ I've bloody well started to try clawing my way back to…" [her breath starts to hitch], "to wanting t-to…live to decide to have your own sodding breakdown and tell me that ' _oh by the way the man you were living with—were engaged to—isn't really dead, he's just been sucked though a **magical fucking portal** to a mythological city nearly three thousand years ago!' No stay the fuck away from me!_ " she hissed viciously at Mac when he'd unconscienciously moved toward her. Unable to stand the way they were all looking at her, not to mention the cold panic starting to crawl through her veins, Alek backed away from the trio until her heel bumped the wall and she realized with a start she was literally in a corner of the room, "Oh and just so **_all_** the bases are covered now that the shite has hit the fan, your all actually going to sit there and not only tell me I'm to believe this, but that it's up to me to fix this whole sodding mess!" by this time her voice had risen to a shriek, and try as she might, she couldn't seem to stop the rage spewing out at them even as a tiny voice in her head screamed she was going too far; the dam had broke, and the darkness that had been eating at her since Jason's death refused to be silenced any longer. The more she vented her rage and frustration, the worse it seemed to get until her whole body was shaking, and her breath was coming in short ragged gasps.

" _Alek enough_!" her mum cried, grabbing Alek's shoulders and shaking her in an attempt to get her daughters breathing under control, "It's not our intention to hurt or upset you; as for your commitment, it wasn't to Bedlam, **_nor_** was it because you weren't talking, as you well know—you also weren't eating. In fact you were **_actively trying to die_** —or are you going to stand there and tell me that's not why A&E had to pump your stomach the night you were admitted to hospital?" Alek glared at her mum, hate burning in her eyes for a moment before slowly crumpling into her mother's arms, hot tears soaking her mums blouse as she was rocked back and forth, "Sweetheart, I know this is hard," her mum crooned petting Alek's hair like she had when Alek was a little girl, "and a rather bitter pill to swallow, but some things you're just going to have to take on faith" A harsh bark of laughter escaped Alek before she could bite it back.

Nona spoke then, indicating the spot on the sofa next to her, "Come sit by me Alekto, please" she said quietly. When Alek slumped down on the sofa, the elderly woman wrapped her only grandchild in her arms before looking at the other adults, "Could you two give Alek and I some time alone please? Maybe go get some nice takeaway from that new Lebanese place we've been hearing about." "Sure thing Nona, I need to run a few errands anyway, then we'll grab the food on the way back" Mac replied, shooting a worried glance Aleks' way as he followed her mum out of house. When the two were alone, Alek pulled away to regard her grandmother with a haunted expression on her face before confessing brokenly, "I can't do this Nona! I can't go through losing him again, I won't survive it. Even if I believed all this—which I don't! What happens if something goes wrong? What if Jason is hurt somehow and I need help getting him back to the village? Or he doesn't realize it's a rescue attempt? For that matter if everything else goes off without a hitch, who's to say another Jason—a stranger—doesn't get pulled though this gate-thingy. There are just so many things that could go wrong—what…what if," she couldn't finish, her throat closed up as she fought to swallow the sobs that were trying to choke her.

Taking in the pale face and fearful eyes of her granddaughter, Nona sighed taking Aleks' hand in hers. "Alek dear, I know this has to be overwhelming," she replied, trying to comfort the younger woman, "I realize I'm asking you to accept quite a lot on faith, a faith I know you've yet to embrace; but I also know that you're intelligent enough to understand that just because you don't know how a thing works or you've never seen or heard of it before, that doesn't mean it's not real." The old woman squeezed Alek's hands, willing the strength she knew the girl had to rise to the surface as she continued firmly, "Here are the facts: The Gods are as real today as they ever were, just because you turned to science and chose not to believe doesn't mean _they_ don't believe in you. I respected your mothers wishes to not push our beliefs on you when you turned from the old teachings after your father left, and I understand that you may have blamed those beliefs as part of the reason he left; I accepted your choice."

When Alek tried to interrupt and deny she'd ever held her grandmothers' ways as a reason for her dad's deserting his family, the old woman just smiled and held up a hand forestalling the denial before continuing, "Another reason I didn't push our family's stories or my belief that your special—singled out by the Gods, is because I wanted you to come to that realization on your own, to have a chance to find your own path in life; and you did, you found Jason—the other half of your soul." Nona patted Alek's cheek smiling, before she went on, "That doesn't mean however, that the Gods will make that path easy, it's safer to say they'll make it as complicated as possible," she warned seriously, "all that means is they believe you worthy of their challenge." The elderly woman shrugged her shoulders as she continued, "I can't guarantee the Goddess will answer your plea for help, or if she does that it will be in a way you expect or can accept. What you have to decide now is what you're willing to risk for a chance to get Jason back; and that's all it is Alek, a chance. But if you truly believe in your heart that you and Jason are _fated_ to be together, if your love is such you're truly willing to risk anything, then I believe the Goddess will hear you."

Alek considered her grandmothers words carefully. What did she truly have to lose by having a little faith in what Nona said? There was a time, when she'd been a girl that the stories and celebrations the women in her family had observed had been as real to her as the ground beneath her feet. It was also true that the pagan celebrations had morally offended her straight-laced father, for whom the Church of England had been the only acceptable view. When he'd walked out of their lives when Alek was ten, she'd vowed to never again put her faith in anything that didn't have hard evidence to back it up. Deciding to give the whole insane venture the benefit of the doubt if for no other reason than to help Mac finally move on past his guilt and grief, Alek sighed and nodded, "Ok Nona, what the hell; I'll give it a shot." The elderly woman smiled, "Good," she replied, "A word of caution though—the seer—you must use caution with her Alekto" the old woman warned, "While she is unable to _directly_ lie, like all who practice her craft; she will never reveal the whole truth. Always those with her 'gift' will serve their own agenda before anyones'. Therefore ask for only that which you _must have_ , state your request as plainly as possible, and remember above all else— _never_ promise anything you're _not prepared_ to give."

Alek sighed internally at how cryptic the whole thing sounded; it was like something out of Grimm's, but nevertheless nodded to show she understood the warning. "I'd do anything to have Jason back alive and safe here with me; you know that Nona. I'm just having a spot of trouble believing something as fantastical as time travel could exist without some scientist somewhere knowing about it. I mean if this seer can move people back and forth through time how has this not been discovered (even accidently) by now?" Nona shrugged, "Who's to say they haven't? In point of fact, aren't you a scientist? Isn't Jason as well? Even Ace held a degree of some sort didn't he?" Alek huffed frustrated, "That's not what I meant and you know it. Besides if this woman is what you say she is then doesn't she have to follow her Goddesses will or something? I mean…you sound as if she's going to try to barter for our souls." Nona chuckled, then sobered as she drew Alek into a hug when the girls eyes started to tear up once more, "Perhaps not your _soul_ Alek," she replied hugging the girl tightly, "but even Judas had a role to play. Just don't take anything coming from a seer at face value. Use that prodigious intellect you were blessed with and try to look at it from this perspective: What have you got to lose by just trying, hhm?" The house fell silent with only the occasional quiet sniffle being heard as the two women waited for what was left of their family to return.


	3. Chapter 3--Moving Heaven and Earth

AN: I want to thank any readers out there, [at least I hope there's readers ;)]. I apoligize for the slow burn that I'm having to build, but I promise its necessary. As always reviews are welcome, or if you'd just like to drop a quick comment or question in the old inbox. Without further ado, on with the show.

* * *

 **Moving Heaven and Earth**

When Alek's mum and Mac had returned to the house later that night, Alek had calmed down and was able to look at her current situation with a bit more objectivity. Mac was just relieved that she wasn't looking at him with sheer hatred in her eyes anymore. The four of them gathered around the kitchen table to strategize their next move while they tucked into the kibbee mikli and fatteh takeaway the Alek's mom had picked up when she and Mac had left Alek and Nona alone to talk. After dinner, when everything had been cleared away, Mac set a small cedar wood box he'd retrieved from his company safe on the table. In response to the curious looks from the three women, he asked Alek to take the seat beside him as he explained, "When Jasons' dad first told me the truth about where they came from, I was a lot like you Alek; I thought my best friend had gone off his trolley." Mac's eyes momentarily grew distant as his mind wondered back to memories of his old friend; shaking himself out of the past and focusing once more on the brunette woman beside him, he continued, "That is until Ace left me this" Mac opened the box and handed Alek a coin. It was a bit larger than a £1 coin, made of gold and featured the same inverted crescent as Aleks' engagement ring on one side and a figure of a bearded man holding a trident on the other.

"Poseidon I'm assuming?" she asked eyeing Macs' reaction, "but it looks recently minted so I doubt it's from Atlantis" "That's what I thought as well until I read this" Mac replied, handing Alek a file stamped ' **confirmed** '. Inside were printouts from both the university labs as well as the Maritime Archaeology Trust listing the results of tests ranging from X-ray fluorescence analysis, lead isotope analysis to old fashioned carbon dating; all placing the coin as being produced between 1100–370 BCE. Alek frown grew the more she read, finally exclaiming, "How is this possible? It's over 3000 years old Mac! But it looks like it was cast less than a decade ago." "That's what I wanted to know as well," Mac nodded, returning the file to the box, "according to Ace, when he fled Atlantis with Jason to escape the civil war that was tearing up the country, he at least tried to take enough gold to set them up until it was safe to return. The bloke who was staging the take-over was killing everyone who worked for or supported the old king as well as their families; in fact he had the infant crown prince murdered and forced the queen to become his mistress after the rightful monarch disappeared. Ace was pretty high up in the government, so when he got word that he and his family were going to be targeted, he sought help from a local priestess or magician or something to escape; though I don't think he intended to go quite this 'far' when he sought help that night." Alek paled, "That's barbaric! But what about his wife, Jasons' mum?" Mac shook his head, "He never said exactly, only that she died right after Jason was born, before they could escape; wither it was the war or from child birth I never found out. What he did tell me was that the only things to make it to 'our' world besides the two of them were your ring, Jasons' necklace, and these."

Reaching into the box Mac pulled out a thick leather cord, about a meter long; knotted at even intervals were dozens of coins. Most were small silver coins bearing the same engravings as the gold coin Mac had shown them first (about 200 in all, each a little smaller than a tuppence); a gold coin was interspersed about every 10 silver ones. "Mac, there's a small fortune here!" Alek breathed when he passed the cord to her. "A king's ransom actually" Mac nodded, "There used to be more, but lawyers and university isn't cheap. About half or more went to lawyers when I was fighting for custody of Jas after Ace disappeared and then university tuition for Jas took a pretty good hunk too; though he always assumed the money came from his dad's half of the salvage company."

Turning the gold coin over and over in his hands, Mac felt the sorrow again of the loss of his friend and now of his adopted son. Even though he knew Jason didn't consider him as more than a favorite 'uncle' who took him in after being shuffled from one foster home to another. Mac had always encouraged the few memories Jason had of his father, adding stories of his own of Mac's time spent with the restless adventurer, "Ace left the coins to me in his estate, in the event something should happen to him so I could keep our business going and to take care of Jason. I guess at the time, he didn't know or didn't realize how hard it is for a single man to retain custody of a minor that isn't a blood relation. Jas spent seven years in the damn system (from age five to thirteen) while I tried to convince social workers and judges that I wasn't a child predator." The big man shook his head in disgust before continuing, "Anyway, I had planned on giving what's left here to Jas and you after the wedding so the two of you could set up house without taking on debt right out of the gate. Now though, not knowing what might come up with this scheme to get Jas back, not to mention this ritual I'm not allowed to know about," he scowled at Nona, "I figured you should be prepared." Alek passed the cord back to Mac, "So what is our plan exactly?" she asked including the other two women in her glance. "Well for starters, the World Monuments Fund people and the Achaean government isn't keen about any foreigners getting too close to the dig site near Rizomylos yet," Mac replied, as he spread out a smaller version of the big map taped to the wall onto the table, "so I've had to pull a few strings, but if your mum and Nona are up for a bit of a 'holiday' I think I've got us a way in." Mac outlined his plan for posing as Aleks' mums' fiancé, who was taking his future family back to their homeland so that the marriage could receive the traditional blessings. This would be confirmed by the need to consult this 'seer' in the village. The plan got a bit fuzzy at that point, as not even Nona could guess if/how the seer could bring Jason home. The best they could hope for at this point was to at least learn if Jason was indeed alive and well in Atlantis, or if their worst fears could be confirmed that he had been lost when the sub went down. Alek refused to let herself lose the tenuous thread of hope this insane possibility had given her. They would figure out a way to rescue Jason, or by God she would tear down the heavens themselves.

In the end it had taken nearly a month before all the details could be worked out. Strangely enough as the time grew closer, a calm settled over Alek; Nona was right as usual, if there was a chance of being with Jason again, could she really pass it up? The night before Mac, Alek, and her mum were to depart for Patras, on Mac's boat was a solemn one. It had been decided that Nonas' health wasn't good enough to make the long voyage to Patras via boat; she would travel by plane using the honeymoon tickets Mac had exchanged to get her a flight coinciding on the day the others arrived by boat. As Alek packed a ruck sack for the voyage with a few changes of clothes (mostly jeans and a few of Jasons' t-shirts, as well as a couple pairs of his trousers, and his favorite cream-colored jumper) and the leather cord of Atlantian coins Mac had given her, she ran over the details of their plan in her mind. The voyage to Greece was uneventful, calm seas and good weather followed them from the frigid winter waters of England to the balmy seas of Greece. The bored customs official who met them at the docks in Patras accepted their story of a family holiday and waved them through with only a cursory inspection of their luggage passing over Aleks' ruck sack entirely. Still Alek didn't relax until they were in a cab and pulling away from the docks heading towards their hotel. She hadn't fancied trying to explain to the Achaean authorities why they were smuggling a fortunes worth of ancient Greek coins _back into_ the country.

When they got to the hotel, Alek decided to hang about there, while Mac and her mum met Nonas' plane at the airport. After locking up the coins in the safe in her room, Alek changed into a pair of cut-offs and one of Jasons' t-shirts before setting off down the path leading from their hotel to the beach. Despite the fact it was very nearly the middle of the winter season, plenty of tourists still flocked the beach as well as the myriad of shops, restaurants, and pubs lining the water front. Seeking a solitary spot further along the beach, Alek struggled her way to the top of one of the dunes that formed a ragged line up to the cliffs that abutted the beach closest to their hotel. Once reaching the top, she sat; legs crossed at the ankles, and stared at the vast blue expanse in front of her. Was Jason starring at the same sea? In that ' _other time_ ', ' _other place_ ' he had been taken to? Was he lost, alone, hurt? Missing his family here—missing her, and wondering if he'd ever get back? Knowing it was probably a fruitless effort Alek nonetheless centered all her concentration on thoughts of the man she loved and promised him, and any deity that might be listening, that they would be together again regardless of the cost or what she had to do to make it happen.

That night she begged off dinner with the others, and went to bed early. She got little rest however, as strange dreams plagued her. They were well enough at first, she saw Jason with two other men. One older heavy set man, somewhat balding with blue slightly bloodshot eyes and a younger skinny one with ginger blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Jason seemed to know them well as they sat gathered around a table in what appeared to be a rather ramshackle house. The three were laughing together and Jason seemed, if not happy, at least content. Slowly though the dreams turned darker as she watched the three battle monsters that looked half man, half beast; there were others they fought, in what looked like a vast forest lead by women in weird looking robes. Abruptly the scene changed, Jason was in a coliseum like the one in Rome. He and the others were acting like deranged matadors, jumping over cattle with long wicked looking horns while crowds cheered them on. Alek saw a woman wearing a golden crown, middle aged but still lovely, and strangely familiar, chanting over what looked like a bloody clay doll; she instinctively got a bad feeling about this woman, she didn't know how she knew, but she just knew that the woman was dangerous to Jason; that she would hurt him — kill him if she got a chance.

Suddenly another woman appeared, this one was as fair as the other was dark, she had intricate tattoos on her back and hands, and she seemed to like Jason on the surface; but still Alek didn't trust her. She and her dark haired opposite seemed poised over an unknown battle-field pulling Jason this way then that, as if he were a pawn on a chess board. Alek watched, a silent spectator as her love and his two friends raced through the twisting streets of a desert city carrying a baby, while men in leather armor, wielding swords chased them; abruptly the scene shifted, Jason was alone fighting another armed opponent while a dark haired girl looked on from behind—where were his friends? Finally he was in the forest again, the young ginger haired man was there but hurt—where was the older one?

There was a dark haired woman, at first Alek thought she was the one with the doll, but this woman was younger and horribly disfigured by burns. She favored the first enough that they must be related though, and her eyes gleamed with hate and madness. It was dark and Jason had his back turned—he didn't know the woman was there—Alek watched horrified as the woman crept closer. She had to warn him! Vainly she shouted, but he couldn't hear her; Alek rushed at the woman but she passed through Alek as if she were made of smoke. Just as the woman reached for Jason, Alek awoke, a scream of pure terror clawing its way from her throat. Jason was gone with the nightmare, and Alek sat drenched in sweat and shaking on her bed. What did it all mean? Was she finally cracking up from the stress of what they planned to try; or were these visions of dangers Jason had faced? What about the last scene—was this what Alek was meant to save him from, or was it already too late? Whatever it was Alek knew there wouldn't be any more sleep tonight. Rising quietly she changed the cut-offs she'd fallen asleep in for jeans, tying the cord of coins around her waist before pulling on a t-shirt and Jason's jumper. Stuffing the rest of her belongings into her ruck sack, she slid the balcony door open and settled in a deck chair, staring at the night blackened sea and waiting for dawn.

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{JASONS' POV} Set during: Atlantis—S1:E6 'The Song of the Sirens'

Jason woke from a nightmare in a cold sweat, they had made the trek back from Circes' cave faster than he had thought they would, especially considering Pythagoras was injured from a harpy attack and Hercules had spent time as a pig thanks to Circes' witchcraft. Now they were less than a day from Atlantis, and Jason could only hope Medusa was as recovered as his other friends. Glancing across the camp he noted Hercules was sleeping by the fire, and Pythagoras was sitting watch with his back against a tree just outside the range of the firelight. If Pythagoras was on the 2nd watch already, Jason had to have been sleeping for a while. He frowned as his thoughts returned to his dream; he'd thought things were getting better; it had been weeks since he'd dreamt about Alek. The first six months he'd been in Atlantis he'd dreamed about her nearly every night, she was the reason he'd been so determined to help Itheus find his daughter; why he'd risked his life to help Ariadne see her brother. Alek had always hated injustice; she'd dragged Jason with her for everything from protesting capital punishment to volunteering at the local animal shelter.

Once he had slain the earth bull, Jason had thought that surely his mission to this world was complete. He'd expected to wake up any morning and find he was back in England. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, he'd begun to lose hope, finally seeking the Oracles' advice. His frown deepened at recalling how well that had gone: ' _I need answers_ ' he'd demanded, ' _How am I to get home?_ ' The Oracle continued swirling the water in her scrying bowl ' _You seek answers that I cannot give_ ' she'd replied, never looking up at the frustrated young man. Jason cursed quietly before staring hard at the woman, silently demanding she at least look at him, ' _You tell me that I was brought to Atlantis for a reason, but I've killed the Minotaur; I've done what you wanted, I have to return home! I don't belong here…I-I have no place in this world!_ ' Frustration and anger at his situation had bled into his voice, ' _What do you want from me?_ ' The Oracle finally looked up at him, ' _It's not a matter of what I want!_ ' she had snapped, ' _Your destiny is already unfolding before you. This is your home, here in Atlantis, not that other place. You were never meant to remain there…_ ' ' _My FAMILY is there,'_ he'd roared, his temper finally reaching the snapping point, ' _The only family I have,_ [breath hitches], _and the woman I'm meant to marry is there._ " Jason had dropped his head so his hair obscured his eyes; he'd be dammed before he'd allow this woman to see the tears that threatened to spill whenever he thought of Alek. The Oracle sighed as she rose from her knees to sit by Jason on the steps of the sanctum ' _I wish I could make it easier, I will do all I can to help you find your place here...but you must forget your other life. Have you not found a family of sorts here, friends, one who with time you could love? The Gods brought you here because they had a reason, and for good or ill, you cannot defy the Gods._ '

Jason had brooded for days afterward; when the day that should have been his and Aleks' wedding arrived, he'd gotten royally pissed for the first time since arriving in Atlantis, for once being the one needing to be carried home instead of Hercules. He'd wondered what everyone back home thought had happened to him. Did Mac find the remnants' of Jasons' sub and think he'd been lost like his father? Did Alek think he was dead? Jasons' guts had twisted at the thought of all the pain and sorrow he'd put her through just because he couldn't let the past go. Gods' help her; did she think he'd abandoned her like all the other men in her life had—like her father had? Alek had been—no was—like the lighter half of his soul; they both had had daddy issues that stemmed from being abandoned by the men who should have cherished them enough to stick around; but whereas Jason had been bounced around the foster care program for years while Mac fought for custody, while also trying to keep his business afloat, Alek at least, had had her mum and Nona. Fading into the background or masquerading as being happy and well-adjusted were personas they both learned to play early on; however where Jason tended to be introverted and mistrustful, Alek had been willing to believe that nobody was irredeemable. She trusted there was good in everyone, a trait that had landed her in trouble more often as not. Jason had never truly felt he belonged; he was always searching for something...until he had met Alek. She wasn't like all the other girls he'd known, she didn't look at Jason like he was a broken thing—someone to be 'fixed'—she accepted him as he was, moods and all.

Shaking off the memories, Jason rose from his bedroll and went to sit by Pythagoras. "What troubles you, my friend?" Pythagoras inquired scooting over so Jason could share the blanket Hercules had spread on the ground earlier to ward off the damp. Jason was silent so long Pythagoras began to think he hadn't heard him, when suddenly Jason turned to face him, "I dreamt about someone from my past…a girl, someone…important to me; you remember when you and Hercules had to bring me home from the tavern?" "Unfortunately yes" Pythagoras replied quirking a brow, "you kept insisting you wanted another 'lager'—whatever that is—and kept looking for a 'loo'. Jason winced embarrassed, "Yeah sorry about that…the reason I got so plastered—I mean drunk was because that was meant to be my wedding night." Pythagoras gaped, Jason had been betrothed?! The young man had been in Atlantis nearly a year and his two friends still knew virtually nothing of his past. "What happened—why didn't you get married?" Jason shrugged, "I went looking for answers about my dad—father—and wound up 'shipwrecked' here. The Oracle said there's no way I can go back there, ever…that the Gods won't allow it, besides they probably think I'm dead by now."

Pythagoras felt awful for his friend, "Surely there's a way. Perhaps send a message—have your betrothed and her family travel here?" "NO!" Jason replied forcefully before modulating his tone so as not to wake Hercules, "I-I mean they can't, they don't know where 'here' is…exactly…besides it wouldn't be fair to ask them to give up their whole life to travel to an unknown place." Jason shuddered, imagining Alek having to face all the dangers that seemed to have followed him this past year; He didn't like to envision her reaction to a lot of his exploits since he'd arrived in Atlantis. "Its fine—really," he insisted when he realized Pythagoras was about to argue, "she's safer where she is. It's probably for the best anyway. Listen it was just the shock from the dream, I-I'm fine. Why don't you get some sleep, I'll take over the watch from here; Hercules will want to get an early start if we're to get back to Atlantis before mid-day." Pythagoras sighed realizing he'd get no more out of Jason tonight, and he _was_ tired, maybe he could get his young friend to open up to him more tomorrow. Stifling a yawn he nodded, moving to occupy the blankets Jason had only recently abandoned.


	4. Chapter 4--Daughter of the Erinyes

**AN:** As always, Atlantis and all its main characters are owned by the BBC; 'hercules' is an animated movie owned by the Walt Disney Company. I own nothing other than my OC's and storyline. Reviews, comments always welcome.

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 **Daughter of the Erinyes**

Western Greece—Peloponnese peninsula, Present day

Except for that first night in Patras, Alek wasn't troubled by anymore nightmares; though a sense of foreboding stuck with her, making her worry whether it was caused by the sense of danger she'd felt for Jason in the dream or just a growing sense of frustration that their mission to rescue him seemed to have stalled. Everyday Mac, Nona, and Aleks' mum drove from Patras to the village of Rizomylos; arriving just after dawn bearing gifts to ' _placate the Goddess and ensure her cooperation_ ' only to be told the seer was unavailable and to return the following day. After the first week even Nona was starting to lose patience, until finally after the better part of two weeks, the seer deigned to see Alek the next morning. Rising several hours before dawn, Alek packed her ruck sack with a pair of Jasons' trousers, a t-shirt, and the cream jumper. She tied the leather cord of coins around her waist before pulling on jeans and a shirt, shoving her feet into her boots before shouldering the pack and locking her door as she headed to the lobby to wait for Mac. She'd just settled in one of the deck chairs facing the beach, when Mac arrived, a large paper bag under one arm and carrying two Styrofoam cups filled with steaming tea. Handing one of the cups to Alek, he led the way to the car park and their rented jeep. Once they were out of the city and headed for the village, Mac pulled a smaller bag out of the larger one and passed it to Alek saying, "I didn't know how long this would take today so I figured it wouldn't hurt you to have a bit of breakfast on the way." Peeking in the bag, she found two warm icing covered Bougatsa filled with sweet custard, "It smells heavenly Mac; I'm just not sure if my stomach will handle anything but tea this morning though." The big man glanced at her frowning, taking in the pale complexion and tired eyes, "Well it's going to be a long hard day and you'll need all your energy to get through it so please at least try to eat a little. I can't have you falling out on me, Nona would have my head" Mac insisted. Alek sighed, starting to nibble a piece of the pastry. Mac was right of course, she hadn't a clue what the day would entail, nor how long it would last, so she had better be safe and eat when she had the chance; she just hoped her stomach would agree and keep the food down where it belonged.

The sky was beginning to turn from black to shades of pink, gold and turquoise by the time they reached Rizomylos; Mac continued on through the village before turning onto a dirt track and following it to a solitary small house at the end. "This is it" Mac told Alek as he parked beside an olive tree. Grabbing her ruck sack, she followed Mac up to the front door of the house. Before she'd a chance to knock however, Mac pulled Alek aside for a moment, folding her into a tight hug, "Thank you for doing this Alek, and…for believing me" he said gratefully. Alek stood for a second in mild shock; Mac wasn't a particularly emotional guy. In all the time she'd known him, she'd only ever seen him hug Jason and even then it had been a slightly awkward one armed affair; he'd certainly never hugged Alek before. Recovering from the initial shock, she wrapped both arms as far around the big man as possible and returned the hug. Stepping back after a moment, Mac cleared his throat and there was a telltale gleam of wetness to his eyes. Pulling a jar filled with a suspicious red liquid from the bag he'd been carrying, he thrust it into Aleks' hands. Alek blanched, "Shite Mac! Please, please tell me that's not what I think it is." Mac nodded distastefully, "It's necessary apparently," he replied shrugging, "but it's from an animal—a yearling bull, even I have limits. Listen, you don't have to do this, if…" Alek touched his arm comfortingly, "Its ok Mac, like Nona said, ' _What have we got to lose_ ', right?" Alek assured him. The big man nodded, turning to the door and rapping sharply on the wood. They waited what to Alek felt like an age before the summons to enter was heard. A feeble smile ghosted across Macs' face before he spun on his heel and marched back to the car; he would wait with the others in Patras for word to be sent of either success or failure. Taking a deep breath, Alek turned back to the door and tentatively stepped inside.

She wasn't sure what exactly she'd been expecting (maybe something along the lines of the one eyed hags from the Disney animated Hercules), but it definitely wasn't the blonde haired green eyed smiling teenager that awaited her. "Excuse me" Alek blurted awkwardly, "but is your mother home—or maybe your grandmother—I'm here to see the seer?" The girl continued to smile at her while silently beckoning Alek to sit down. Alek edged over and perched on the edge of a chair casting a quick look about the room. Shelves holding a variety of bottles, clay pots, and candles covered most of the wall space; the middle of the floor space was taken up with a roughhewn table surrounded by simple wooden chairs, two of which were occupied by the silent girl and Alek. There were two openings leading off the main space; the one on the right was hung with a simple curtain that had been pushed aside, revealing a small bare room containing only a neatly made cot and a table holding a small candle, the other was across from Alek, and was propped open showing a small walled courtyard at the back of the house, containing a miniscule fountain and what appeared to be a tiny vegetable patch. Alek took all this in within a few minutes, before turning back to her companion, "I was told to come here to meet the village oracle this morning…is she here?"

"You seek your hearts love. The one you _thought_ lost, and tried to join in the underworld," the blonde stated matter-of-factly. Alek gaped at the teen before recovering enough to ask, "How is it that you know this? Did my family tell you this? Are you the seer?" The girl smiled, "My name is Juliet, and I am the one you seek. I dreamed of you and the one you _must_ find, for he is special and is badly needed where he is; yet he faces many perils and there is a darkness that hangs over him that only you can avert." As Alek stared at the girl open mouthed, she was struck by the odd contradiction of the young face and ageless eyes, as the teen considered Alek for long moments before seemingly making a decision. Smiling at Alek, she continued, "More than two lives hang in the balance of this tale, and the outcome will stretch through the ages. You must be absolutely certain before you attempt to meddle in the _moira_ of this man." "How?" Alek demanded, "How can I help Jason? How do I find him?" The blonde smiled knowingly, "This man—Jason is touched by the Gods and so was **_drawn_** **into** his destiny, but you have within you that which is _**divine**_ ; and so you have the power to follow him, to save him, if you but believe enough." The young/old seer reached across the table and gripped Alek's arm in a surprisingly tight hold, looking deeply into the brunette beauty's pale eyes. "You must be cautious though," the blonde said seriously, "a time may come when you must choose between your love and _that which you would willingly die for!_ " Alek returned the look steadily, "I will die without him," she said simply, "I can't continue as I am now; half alive and just going through the motions of living. I appreciate your concern, but as I told my friend earlier, I've nothing to lose." The girl contemplated Alek a moment before nodding, "Then follow me daughter of the Erinyes, we have much to do."

Alek followed Juliet out of the house and across the courtyard, a small gate connected the courtyard to a faint dirt path that led away from the village and up into the forest beyond. The two of them trudged up and down hills, gullies, and between clefts for hours, before the forest began to thin. Stepping out of the tree line, Alek got her first look at the Taíyetos Mountains, jagged peaks rose high into the sky, their snow covered tops lost in the clouds. "How much further is it?" Alek asked, leaning on a moss covered boulder while she tried to catch her breath. ' _When did I get so bloody out of shape?_ ' she wondered internally as she fought to bring her breathing under control. Juliet squinted at the distant peaks; "We should reach the caves in the mountains foothills soon; be thankful the journey isn't harder, if we were trying to do this thousands of years ago, we would have had to cross a desert to reach the caves." "What do you mean?" Alek frowned, "Greece doesn't have deserts." "True there are no deserts in Greece now," the blonde teen replied, "but many thousands of years ago when Helios stood, there was a great desert here; three days journey it would have taken by horse or camel to reach your beloveds birthplace from my home." Turning back to Alek she continued, "The wrath of the gods is a terrible thing, it can destroy but it can also give; when Poseidons' wrath shook the earth and sent the great waves that claimed this entire section of ancient Greece, it opened the earth, allowing the underground rivers to bubble up; and so the forests grew." Alek fought the stinging retort that threatened to escape; after all she was the one who had volunteered for this insanity once she'd realized Mac was hell-bent on doing anything to convince both himself and her that Jason wasn't really dead. Sighing, Alek straightened from her seat on the boulder, "Well we better chivvy along then if we're going to get there before nightfall. I for one don't fancy blundering through this forest in the dark."

Together the two continued their trek, the path fading to nothing as it steadily climbed higher into the rocky inclines of the mountains feet. Finally Aleks' guide stopped at the foot of a near vertical climb along a ledge that switch-backed its way up to the opening of a cave. "The temple lies in that cavern up there." Juliet pointed up the cliff. "Of course it does" Alek muttered, she had never been fond of heights; preferring to keep her feet firmly on the ground thank you very much. Taking a moment to settle her pack firmly across her shoulders, Alek followed her companion up the steep slope. There were tense moments as the women scrabbled for hand and foot holds on a ledge scarcely the width of a palm of the hand in places. ' _How on earth will we get back down if one of us gets hurt?_ ' the brunette wondered. Reaching the ledge in front of the cave entrance at last, Alek sank down to sit on her knees and drank from the water bottle she'd stashed in her pack before leaving the hotel that morning, while she tried to bring her pulse rate back under control. "We must hurry," the teen urged her, "the ritual must begin at dusk when the Goddess Nyx begins her journey across the world." "Tell me more about Nyx," Alek requested, as she rose to follow the younger girl into the cave, "Nona says she's the Goddess the Furies were born to, but I've never read a lot about her."

Juliet stopped just inside the cave opening and began lifting aside football sized rocks piled against one side, revealing a crevice from which she pulled two wooden sticks, each roughly a meter long. Each stick had blackened cloth wrapped around one end and smelled faintly of crude oil. Lighting each torch, the seer passed one to Alek and motioned her to follow. "Most everything known about or associated with the Goddess has been lost to the ravages of time or war," the teen replied as the two carefully picked their way through the cave around huge chunks of rock, "only those few priestesses devoted to the old gods or those of the bloodline like your family now retain the knowledge to call upon the Great Mother for aide." Alek frowned, "Great Mother? I thought Zeus was the creator of the Gods or at least the leader of them." The seer shook her head, "Nyx was born of Chaos, and stood at the beginning of creation; a figure of such exceptional power and beauty, she was the first principle from which all creation emerged, and mothered other deities such as: Hypnos, the god of sleep, Thanatos the god of death, as well as the Erinyes." "Hold on a minute," Alek argued, "I thought Hades was the ruler of the Underworld, not Thanatos." Juliet stopped with a sigh, clearly this woman didn't know as much about her families divine connections as the seer had been led to believe. "Hades does rule the Underworld, but only so much as mortal souls are concerned. There are more gods and goddesses that call the Underworld home, than just Hades and Persephone" the seer explained patiently, "The Goddess Nyx created the Underworld. It is home to her and her children. She is the ultimate ruler of all darkness, good and bad and her power is such that she is feared even by Zeus himself, who after all is only one of her many grandchildren. Nyx is found in the shadows of the world and is only ever seen in glimpses; she has no need of pitiful human worship and so does not concern herself with the trials and tribulations of mankind. Were you other than whom you are, I would never have agreed to help you call upon her, for it can be dangerous to disturb the Goddess of Darkness with trivial mortal concerns."

They had finally emerged into a large cavern as the teen had been finishing what Alek considered her 'history' lesson. The roughly circular cavern contained a large pool of water approximately 4-5 meters around and was ringed by flat stones big enough to serve as seating. A huge statue of a woman had been carved from the stone of the cavern wall directly behind the pool; smaller figures had been carved out of rock near the statues feet, three were winged females with fierce eyes holding aloft swords, two were men, one with a curved scythe and the other held a flower that resembled a poppy. Twin braziers stood at each side of the carving while another large flat stone in the middle acted as an altar of sorts. Juliet went to each brazier in turn, lighting them with her torch before sticking it into a metal holder beside the pool; turning to Alek she indicated a second holder on the pools other side. Alek slid her pack to the floor of the cave before circling the pool and thrusting her torch firmly in place; turning back to her companion, she noticed the girl had pulled a bronze cup as well as a small bronze dagger from a box, (presumably stored somewhere behind the altar as she hadn't had it with her before).

Motioning Alek to join her in front of the altar, the seer took the older girls hands in hers. "Are you absolutely certain that you wish to do this?" Juliet asked, "Because once you invoke the Goddesses help there will be no turning back, you must be willing to accept her judgment regardless of the form it takes." "I've told you already, I'll take whatever chance to be with Jason you or anyone else gives me no matter the cost or consequence" Alek replied. "Very well" the blonde nodded, "have you the offering I requested?" Alek pulled the jar containing the bulls' blood Mac had given her earlier from her pack and passed it to the seer. The younger girl examined it carefully before nodding and setting the jar on the altar; reaching into an inner pocket of her dress, she pulled out a bunch of fragrant herbs bound with string, and a tiny wooden vial. Carefully dividing the herbs into two bunches, she tossed them into the braziers on either side of the altar, before picking up the knife she had retrieved from the box earlier. "You must mingle your blood with that of the bull" she informed Alek as she grabbed the older girls hand and made a shallow cut across her palm before the brunette had time to react. "Bloody hell! What do you think doing?! Are you insane?" Alek shouted jerking her hand away. "You were willing to try anything for your love remember?" Juliet smirked as she swirled the bloody knife around the jar mingling Aleks' blood with that of the bulls then pouring the lot over the altar. Aleks' stomach gave a queasy roll at the sight of all that gore dribbling down the altar stone. Taking up the cup next, the seer filled it from the pool adding a clear liquid from the vial before turning back to the altar, and offering it to Alek. "What did you put in it?" Alek asked suspiciously. "It is kykeon; it will allow the Goddess to work her will upon you. Trust me it is necessary" Juliet assured her, "You must stand in the sacred pool and make your plea to the Goddess, you must be sincere or she will not answer you."

Taking the cup, Alek drained the liquid inside in one go grimacing at the foul taste of bitter almonds, and rotten fruit before handing it back to the blonde girl. Carefully stepping over the stones ringing the pool and down into the thigh deep water Alek turned to face the statue, arms held out to the side with her palms toward the carving as Juliet had instructed, and started to recite the prayer Nona had drilled her on for the last month:

"Akoúste me o̱ Theá Nyx déomai, (Hear me oh Goddess Nyx I beseech thee,)

Écho̱ ti̱n kóri̱ sou…sou iéreia Alekto, (I thy daughter, th…thy priestess Alekto)"

Alek stumbled to a pause, her vision blurred momentarily as something shimmered over the statue. Shaking her head, she continued

"Eímai kálese píso̱ gia na anazi̱tí̱soun dikaiosýni̱ sto ónomá sou, (I am called forth to seek justice in thy name)"

Again the air around the statue seemed to shimmer and flow like heat waves from pavement on hot summer days,

"Chreó̱no̱ sou o̱ Theá Nyx, (I charge thee oh Goddess Nyx),

na…na katas… katastí̱sei se ména ti̱ dýnami̱ pou apaiteítai, (to…to ren…render unto me the power I require)"

Something was wrong, Aleks' vision had begun to tunnel inward until the only clear thing she seemed able to focus on was the statue in front of her, or was it a woman? She shook her head again, ' _No that cannot be right, the only other person here was Juliet, but where was she?_ ' Alek looked blearily around the cavern; there was no sign of the teen anywhere. Facing the statue again, Alek fought to concentrate, she had to finish this and get out of this damned pool, the water was freezing and her legs were starting to get weak, ' _What the bloody hell is kykeon_ anyway?' she wondered. Facing the altar again she forced her fuzzy brain to cooperate,

"étsi ó̱ste na boró̱ na exisorropí̱sei tis theíes klímakes to̱n ischyró̱n Día, (so that I may balance the divine scales of mighty Zeus),

o opoíos tha mas…krínei ólous sto télos, (who will judge…us all in the end.)

With a shock, Alek realized there was definitely a strange woman in front of her. Alek could see her plainly now, though everything else around her remained fuzzy and distorted. The woman looked older than Alek, but not by much; the woman had midnight black hair down to her knees, and wore a gauzy flowing black dress with open cut sleeves like the ones Alek had seen on old Grecian statues in the British Museum, and there was something weird about her eyes; she didn't appear to have any whites to her eyes, or rather her eyes were deepest black, and filled with spangles like distant star fields. Strangely Alek wasn't afraid; even though she knew she was in the presence of an alien being of immense power. Taking a deep breath she rushed to finish the prayer,

"kai gia mia akómi̱ forá thési̱ sti̱n kardiá mou, (and to once more place in my heart),

óti polytimótero kosmí̱mata—agapoún, (that most precious of jewels—love)."

The Goddess regarded the mortal girl severely, "Why seek you me daughter? Twenty-four years you have walked the mortal plane, yet never before have I heard your prayers, even now you come to me with doubt in your heart." Alek rushed to apologize, "Please Great Mother," she pleaded, "I've no wish to offend you; I did not know of my heritage until recently, and I wouldn't have presumed to call on you, but you're my only hope. The world today doesn't follow the old ways as it once did; science and commerce are the only Gods most follow now, but I beg your forgiveness for any offence I have caused in hopes you will hear my plea." Nyx took in the too thin frame and the desperate eyes of the young woman before her. Softening her gaze, the goddess smiled sadly saying, "You are flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood and so I will help you." Stretching out her hand over the pool, a picture formed in the water showing Jason in his leather breastplate and carrying a sword. "You seek to be reunited with the one whom your heart yearns for" Nyx said, watching the girls' reaction to the image of the man in the water, "but I must warn you child, there is a chance this yearning will end in more pain than you have yet suffered. Would it not be better to accept the _moira_ your sisters the fates have spun you than to suffer worse later on?"

Alek had wrapped her arms around herself as if by doing so she could hold the fragile pieces of herself together. Looking away from the image of the man she loved, she turned pleading eyes on the goddess, "Please Great Mother, I love him so much; the world has become grey and not worth living without Jason." Dropping her head in misery, Alek sobbed, "If you turn me away, I don't believe I shall be in it for much longer." The Goddess contemplated the mortal girl for many tense moments before suddenly coming to a decision, nodding once she replied, "Very well daughter, I will grant you your boon, but know this, though the one you seek is favored by the Gods, should he ever betray the devotion you hold for him, none will stay my wrath, for you are one of my own. He and all he holds dear will suffer even unto the end of eternity." "Jason would n-never do anything to intentionally hurt me" Alek assured her, teeth beginning to chatter from the icy water. The Goddess didn't reply, but simply stretched her hand out again towards the pool of water Alek stood in; immediately the water started to froth and roil as a blinding white light built at Aleks' feet. Staggering from the force of the waters pull, the mortal girl tried shielding her eyes as she struggled to stay steady, but it was useless and before she had the chance to even attempt to get out of the water, she was knocked off her feet. The icy water closed over her head as the light surrounded her; she fought to get her feet under her to stand but she couldn't reach the bottom, ' _What the hell is happening? The pool isn't this deep!_ ' she thought desperately. Still struggling to reach the surface, her lungs were screaming for oxygen and her vision was starting to darken, ' _I'm going to die_ _here_ ' she suddenly realized. ' _At least we'll finally be together again_ ' was the last thought to pass through her mind as the blackness claimed her.


	5. Chapter 5--Order in the Chaos

AN: Here's where I start playing fast and loose with the order of the episodes, this chapter is set some time after E:6, but instead of going into E:7, ' _The Rules of Engagement_ ' I'm going to switch it to E:11, ' _Hunger Pangs_ ', and I'm going to mess with it a bit as well. Medusa isn't a gorgon yet, and while Ariadne will be making occasional appearances, my OC Alekto will be Jasons' only love interest.

* * *

 **Order in the Chaos**

[JASONS' PoV, Atlantis, Approximately 400-370 BCE]

Jason jerked awake, automatically reaching for the drowning woman in his nightmare. This was the second time in as many weeks that his sleep had been disturbed by dreams of Alek. This time though, he'd clearly seen the danger his love had been in. Chills crawled up his spine as he relived the flashes of a torch lit cave and a girl with a dagger grabbing at Alek, before suddenly changing to show an older woman watching impassively as Alek drowned in a deep pool of water. Guilt swept over him as he tried to work out what the dream could mean. Was it just his guilty conscience plaguing him, or was it a warning of something that could happen as so many of his dreams were lately. Was Alek in danger? Was she hurt—dead, because he hadn't been there to protect her? Jasons' gut twisted painfully and his heart beat sped up; surely the dream was just the result of his guilt at leaving her behind, of not being able to let go of the past, and his uncertainty about what had happened to his dad instead of any real danger to his lost love. Besides, the older woman had been dressed like a noble Atlantian woman, so there wasn't any chance it was a real person. What were the odds that Alek would run across anyone dressed like an ancient Greek noblewoman, much less one in a cave? Swinging his legs around, he sat up on the edge of the small cot he called a bed, and ran his hands through his mop of unruly curls. Sighing, he tried to go over the details of the dream again, but unfortunately wakefulness was causing them to rapidly fade.

It was probably for the best he mused, his nightmares inevitably made him restless which meant he'd be cranky the next day; something he tried to spare his two friends from as much as possible. While thinking of Alek in mortal peril was about the worst inducement to further sleep as he was likely to get, he nevertheless owed it to Pythagoras and Hercules to at least try. Settling back once more on the bed, he tried to put the dream out of his mind. Tossing and turning for over an hour before his brains lack of cooperation started to fray his temper. It wasn't fair dammit; he couldn't help it if he was terribly homesick for the one person in his life who'd always seemed to love and understand him no matter what. In typical Jason fashion, it never occurred to him that Alek would have been as equally devastated at the loss of him. While he logically realized she would grieve, he naturally assumed that after a brief period of time, she would pick up and go on with her life; unlike him, Alek had never had trouble making friends or holding onto relationships. She was always so carefree and irrepressible, that people were naturally drawn to her; especially men and besides it wasn't as if she had been left on her own, she had her mum and Nona after all. After his epic bout of drunkenness on what should have been their wedding day, he'd finally accepted that he wouldn't ever see her again, so he'd forced himself to work on letting memories of her go; he knew she'd most likely find someone else to marry and have a family with, (he'd always felt she would make an awesome mum one day). But even though Ariadne reminded him of Alek, even looked a bit like her, (except for the eyes, no one had eyes like Alek); he knew in his heart he'd never actually love anyone like he did Alek again. Giving up on further sleep in case his subconscious had any more surprises planned, he stood up and padded barefoot out to the balcony; sitting down on the railing with his back propped against the wall, he stared out over the silent city streets and waited for dawn.

* * *

The day was well underway when Alek broke the surface of the water with a gasp, drawing as much air into her burning lungs as she could before collapsing into the surf that foamed up around her. Crawling forward a few feet, she rolled over onto her back; gradually her breathing slowed enough she was able to take in her surroundings. Sitting up slowly, she realized she was on a white sand beach facing an endless expanse of turquoise sea, ' _How did I get here?_ ' she mused. The cave wasn't near the coast—in fact how had she managed to climb back down the cliff? Glancing around, she yelped in surprise when she noticed a completely bald young woman standing directly behind her, "Jesus Christ you scared the crap out of me!" The bald girl ducked her head and blushed, "I am sorry", she replied sincerely, "I didn't mean to startle you, and I'm afraid I don't know what a Jeesus Krist is. I just wanted to bring you something to wear and make sure you reached the city safely."

"Where's Juliet? What city? Who are you —and what's wrong with my clothes?" Alek demanded looking down at herself, only to discover she was naked as a newborn babe. "What's going on? What the bloody hell happened to my clothes!" the brunette gasped trying desperately to cover herself with her hands. The bald girl had retreated several paces at Aleks' outburst and was watching the brunette warily as if she wasn't sure how safe it was to be around this crazed woman. "I don't know what happened to your garments my lady, nor how you came to be here without them. I was told in a vision that I must find garments as befit a daughter of the Goddess Nyx and await her coming as she would require aide. As to what city, that city—Atlantis" the girl replied pointing up the cliffs to a massive walled city in the distance. "Atlantis?" Alek repeated, frowning at the younger girl, "as in ' _the lost city of Atlantis?_ ' As in the ' _mythological city under the ocean_ ' Atlantis?" Alek paled, and her eyes grew huge as she took in the sight of the massive stone walls rising up from the cliffs above. Covering her face with her hands, Alek silently counted to ten before peeking through her fingers at the distant city in hopes it would have disappeared and she would wake up in her hotel room. Unfortunately there was no such luck, "Oh bugger it all I'm in ancient Greece! She sent me to him instead of the other way!" the brunette exploded in exasperation.

"It's going to be all right, as you can plainly see the city is neither ' _lost_ ', nor is it ' _under the ocean_ '," the younger girl soothed edging closer, "that's why I'm here, the Goddess warned me you would need time to adjust to Her decision" she held out a bundle to Alek smiling encouragingly. Standing on trembling legs, Alek waded out of the edge of the surf and accepted the bundle, only then noticing she still had on her ring and the leather cord of coins tied around her waist. Opening the bundle she found an long double fold V-necked gauzy chiton made of fine linen, and dyed a deep amethyst, a pattern of poppies worked in silver thread went around the hem and the open sleeves, which were fastened at the shoulder and midway down the bicep with silver fibulae, shaped like poppies, each one inset with a tiny amethyst; a large piece of lighter lavender gauze edged all around with silver thread in the same poppy pattern served as a himation and went with the dress as did a long double strand zoster (or girdle) consisting of beaten silver poppies, each one inset with a small dark purple amethyst about the size of a babies pinky nail, and connected by delicate silver links. Finally a poppy shaped silver hair comb completed the outfit. "It's beautiful" Alek breathed, admiring the craftsmanship that had been put into the outfit, "I'm just not too sure how everything goes together" she admitted self-consciously. "Please allow me" the bald girl smiled taking the dress from Alek, before handing her a rougher square of linen, "perhaps you'd like to dry off a bit first?"

Alek nodded her thanks and began to vigorously dry her hair before patting herself dry. Pausing she turned to look at the other girl, "I'm sorry", she said, "I seem to have forgotten my manners, my name is Alekto—Alek to my friends" she smiled, "What's your name?" "Cassandra, but you may call me Cass if you like—that's what my mother called me before I was sent to the temple" Cassandra replied smiling. "Cass it is then," Alek grinned, "now how exactly does all this material work? I really don't fancy anyone coming along and finding me standing here starkers." Cass gave Alek a strange look, before shaking her head and moving to help the brunette get the dress on. Once she'd lifted the dress over Aleks' head and helped adjust the sleeves over her shoulders, Cass began tightening and lacing the ribbons that closed the bodice down the back, tying them off at the waist. Picking up the silver girdle, she hooked the shorter strand snuggly under Aleks' bust, accentuating the swell and curve of her breasts. Cass then hooked the longer strand loosely around Aleks' waist so that it rode low on her hips, the excess hanging down the front and ending in a clasp holding an amethyst the size of Aleks' thumb. Finger combing Aleks' long hair, Cass began braiding then twisting it up into a complex up-do Alek just knew she herself could never manage, before securing it with the silver hair comb. Finally taking up the lavender gauze himation, she looped one end up through the girdle at Aleks' side and then wrapped the rest around the back and up, attaching the other end to the silver comb, before handing Alek a sturdy pair of dark leather sandals. Stepping back to admire the results, Cass nodded appreciatively, "The Queen herself has never looked so fine."

"Really?" Alek beamed, "I've never been one for smart dress—I mean I can obviously, if I need to, there's just never been much call for it in my line of work…anyway…you say that's actually Atlantis eh? You wouldn't be willing to help me find someone there would you; it's just I'd like to find him as soon as possible so we can go back home you see" Alek finally managed to stop rambling as she noticed the serious expression on Cass' face. "I don't believe the Goddess will allow you to go back to your world so soon Alek; in my dreams she indicated you had an important destiny to fulfill here." "Its fate not destiny" Alek muttered absently, as she recalled Nona's warning to make any request as succinctly as possible, thereby missing the confused look Cass sent her way before suddenly jerking upright as the younger girl's words suddenly sank into her brain. "So you're saying we might be stuck here indefinitely?" Alek gaped at Cass, "but we can't stay here—do you realize how dangerous it is in this time! Forget I asked that, of course you do, you're from here."

Alek began pacing back and forth as the seriousness of the situation settled in her stomach, "There's disease, famine, injury—yes I suppose we have those as well, but at least there's modern medicine to help combat it!" she whirled to face Cass, "I mean blast it all what am I supposed to do—sit round on my arse for two millennia waiting for someone to invent aspirin for Christs' sake?" Resuming her pacing, she waved her arms about, "…and for another thing, do you have any idea just how uptight people were about womens' rights in this era? No? Well that's because they didn't bloody well have any!" she gesticulated between herself and Cass, "They were viewed as property—worth less than most livestock!" Abruptly bending over and bracing her hands on her knees, Alek moaned, "Ohh…God I think I'm gonna be sick." Cass rushed to the young womans side and moved aside Aleks' veil in case she began to vomit before beginning to rub calming circles on the dark haired young woman's back, "Easy now, none of that, you need to calm down my lady—that's it, slow deep breaths. Feeling better now?" Alek straightened up and gave a watery smile, "Yeah, sorry about this. It's just a lot to take in at one go, you know?" Cass nodded sympathetically, "Yes, I would imagine it would be my lady, but I don't believe the Goddess would set you an impossible task. With time, you'll come to realize you've more power than you know, I should think; though it might be unwise to tell others about where you truly come from, at least until you can trust them enough to not charge you with witchcraft or insanity." "Good point" Alek agreed, though she'd turned a shade or two greener at the 'insane' comment. "Now shall we return to the city together while I explain the remainder of the task I was set?" Cass inquired, and at Aleks' nod yes, she linked her arm with Aleks' as they began the return trip to Atlantis.

On the way Cass explained that she had been charged by the Goddess to find Alek and render aide in the form of garments as well as assuring Alek reached Atlantis; but could take no direct action in the young woman's quest. While she hadn't known exactly when or how this person was to appear, after three consecutive days of being drawn down to the lower end of the beach outside the city, Cass had begun to suspect this mystery woman might rise from the sea much as the Goddess Aphrodite did, and so had prepared suitable clothing for a goddess on earth. Cass dismissed Aleks' denials that she wasn't a goddess, just a normal woman who happened to have been transported from another place and time, as if it was completely normal to find naked young women popping out of the sea looking for long lost loves. She went on to explain to Alek that while she couldn't directly help locate the person Alek was looking for (and no she mustn't know his name yet either), she could guide Alek to the agora in the city proper, as everyone passed that way at some time or another every day. "So it's like Piccadilly or Times Square" Alek mused to herself. Cass shrugged, deciding against asking what a pick-a-dilly was or how mathematics were involved, instead assuring Alek that if the man she sought was indeed in Atlantis, he would be found in the agora at some point.

As the two women reached the gate leading into the city, Alek noticed men in leather armor with swords, like she'd seen in movies set in these times, standing at either side of the gate, while others stopped people entering and exiting to check the contents of wagons, carts, and bundles. She began to get nervous the closer she got to the gate especially when a couple ahead of them was roughly turned away by a huge ugly guard with broken teeth and beady eyes that reminded Alek of a weasel. She needn't have worried though, as the guard simply glanced at the two before waving them through the gate and into the city. Once out of sight of the guards, Alek tried to relax and take notice of her surroundings; she quickly realized that the city was a warren of twisting streets, alleyways, and dead-ends. ' _How am I supposed to find Jason in this?_ ' she wondered despairingly. Shaking her head Alek quickened her pace so as not to be separated from her guide; the last thing she needed was to become lost in this place. Catching up with Cass, Alek noted the general noise and hubbub of the city had been steadily increasing, until it reached levels rivaling a Cherries game at Dean Court, as they entered the largest open air market Alek had ever seen. "This is the main agora for the city" Cass explained, "it is at the center of the two main thoroughfares of Atlantis; the Sacred way which runs from the Telapias Gate where we entered up to the Temple of Poseidon and the palace, and the Canopic Way that runs from the docks at the eastern end of the city all the way to Shepherd's Gate at the other end. If the man you seek is in the city, you'll stand the best chance of finding him here."

"What if Ja—I mean _he_ has already been here today, or has left the city for some reason?" Alek fretted, "How am I to find him in this crowd anyway, there has got to be well over a thousand people here!" "Patience my lady, there is order in the chaos" Cass replied soothingly as she drew Alek over to a large ornate fountain and sat her down on the edge. "Do you see the stalls here, in front of us?" Cass asked, pointing toward a row of vendors who were all selling bread, pies, and pastries. "All the bakers are here, alongside the milk and cheese sellers; vegetable and fruit produce, as well as grain are found to the left, meats and fishes to the right. Textiles, cloth, metal work, etc. are on the far side across from us." Alek nodded, forcing herself to relax and pay attention. After all, Cass was the only person Alek knew in this strange place and she couldn't afford to offend the only friend she had here. While she was fairly certain she would be able to navigate the agora with time, it was exactly that situation that had her so worried. If it took longer than a day to find Jason, where was she going to sleep? Voicing her concerns to the younger woman, she was relieved when Cass simply shook her head and smiled. "As for where you can stay while you search, follow me." Cass pulled the brunette to her feet, and lead the way to a large three story stone and plaster building sitting near the corner of the Sacred Way.

"Ioustos is a friend of my father's and a fair man" Cass informed Alek as she led her inside, "He runs a safe, clean inn; you may trust him to look after you, as he tolerates no thieves, trollops, or troublemakers." The inn's main room was well lit. The walls were painted with pastorial scenes and the stone floor was covered with clean rushes. Tables and chairs took up most of the floor space, except for a long bar of smooth wood that ran along the back wall. An open archway lead off one end, presumably to the kitchens and a wide staircase opposite the entry led to the floors above. Cass approached a sandy haired man who was standing behind the long bar busily scrubbing the surface with a cloth. Spotting Cassandra his face split into a wide friendly grin, "Cass my dear, to what do I owe this pleasure? How is your father—well I hope?" Cass hugged the man and nodded, "Father is very well Ioustos, thank you." Turning toward Alek, she went on, "This is my friend Alekto; she has journeyed to Atlantis from a distant land, seeking someone very important to her. She is only recently arrived and is unfamiliar with the city or our customs, and you are the only one I would entrust with her welfare as I must return to the temple." "Thank you my dear" he bowed to Cass, "I assure you your friend will receive the best of care." Turning to Alek, he bowed again, "It will be my pleasure to serve you my lady, if you will please follow me?" Turning to Cass, Alek enveloped the younger girl in a grateful hug "Thank you so much Cass. I don't know how I would've ever managed without you." At first the younger girl was startled, being unused to physical contact since becoming an acolyte of the temple, but quickly surmised her companion was genuinely grateful and expressing that in the physical contact. Inwardly she chastised herself for expecting otherwise, as both the Goddess Nyx and all her offspring were known to be highly emotional and to express those emotions physically. "I must return to my duties my lady," Cass said returning the hug, "but if you should need me, come to the temple before dusk and ask for me. I will try to help all that I can." Alek thanked her again before turning to follow Ioustos up the stairs.

Reaching the second floor landing, Ioustos lead Alek down a hallway, stopping at the very end at a doorway on the right. Taking a key from the pocket of his apron, he unlocked the door then moved aside handing Alek the key as she moved past him into the room, "Will this suffice my lady?" Along the wall holding the door stood a large bed of light colored wood, covered with a heavy cream colored brocade spread, a large matching bolster pillow lay across the top while smaller decorative pillows had been placed in front. Two round tables of the same wood stood at either side of the bed, each holding a lamp filled with fragrant lamp oil, while a large leather bound trunk stood at the foot acting both as storage and extra seating. A fireplace holding several fat candles on the mantle shared space on the other inside wall along with a larger table set with a pitcher and bowl and flanked by two padded chairs. The remaining walls were taken up with large open air windows hung with crisp white curtains that billowed in the breeze. "It's lovely, thank you" Alek replied smiling at the innkeeper. "Will you be taking the evening meal downstairs or would my lady like a tray brought up?" Ioustos inquired. "Oh no!" Alek exclaimed, "Please don't go to any trouble. I'm sure I can find something to nibble on later at the agora while I'm there." "As you wish my lady" Ioustos bowed, "I shall send one of the maids along later to help you retire. If there's anything you require you need only ask." Bowing again he turned and left.

Shutting the door behind him, Alek decided now might be a good time to remove some coins from the cord around her waist; after all she would need to pay for the room, especially if it turned out to take a day or two to find Jason. Besides, she couldn't simply hike her dress up around her waist if she needed to buy anything in the agora —that could get her arrested or worse mugged. Sitting at the table beside the fireplace, Alek reached under her dress and carefully worked loose the knot holding the cord around her waist. Looking around the room, she finally spotted a small knife on the mantel; ' _probably used to trim the wicks of the lamps_ ' she thought. Sitting back down at the table, she carefully cut away a single gold coin as well as half a dozen silver ones. ' _That should be enough to be getting on with_ ', she mused ' _at least until I figure out how currency works here or until I find Jason_ '; besides, anymore and she wouldn't be able to carry it without risking dropping it unless she used both hands and again that chanced drawing too much attention to herself. Carefully re-tying the cord around her waist, she smoothed the folds of the voluminous triple skirt over it before scooping up the coins she'd decided to use and heading to the agora, locking the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6--The Maths Don't Add Up

AN: First I'd like to thank all the guest reviewers for their wonderful comments. It's very intimidating for a beginning writer to get up the courage to put a piece of their work out there for public consumption. So to receive all your kind words and encouragement has really given my creative side the boost it needs. I'd also like to thank angel-of-Eden, for allowing me to bounce ideas off her as well as acting as my unofficial Beta reader. Finally, as always Atlantis, and its cannon characters are owned by the BBC (even though I keep begging them for joint custody)

* * *

 **The Maths Don't Add Up**

Alek sat on the edge of a fountain in the agora near the bread sellers, watching the hive of activity going on around her. For two long weeks she had wandered the market stalls in a fruitless search for Jason, only returning to her room at the inn when the very last of the vendors packed up for the night. Today was sizing up to be the same, as she prepared to make yet another circuit around the market. After the first week of fruitless searching for Jason, she'd decided to expand the search by including the other two men she'd seen with Jason in her dreams. That way even if she was unable to find Jason, perhaps she could find someone who knew him. Two hours later though, Alek found herself once again back at the fountain by the bakers' stalls. "This is futile," she groused to herself, glaring at the crowds packing the agora "It's nearly midday, surely if Jason or his friends were going to show up to buy food, they'd have been here by now." She was starting to get more nervous by the day; while there were still plenty of coins left on the cord tied around her waist, she knew that eventually they _would_ run out. What would happen to her then if she hadn't managed to find Jason? For that matter, she still had no idea how they would even get home once she _did_ find him. Cass had intimated that Jason was supposed to do something important here, and apparently the goddess Nyx had decided it (whatever _it_ was) was going to require Alek's help. She'd considered going to the big temple up on the hill overlooking the city and seeing if Cass could be persuaded to help her, but on further contemplation of what had happened the last time she'd asked for help from a seer, she decided to hold on to that idea only as a last resort. Besides, hadn't Nona warned her to only involve magic as an absolute final solution anyway? It wasn't so much a problem of not trusting _Cass_ , as it was _not trusting_ the unknown entities that tended to extend help on the loosest interpretations possible. She'd already made a cock-up of rescuing Jason, when she'd failed to make plain her request to the goddess in her shrine; hence landing herself in ancient Greece instead of bringing Jason back to the future.

Classics may have taught her a lot about ancient Greece and its culture, but Atlantis had only ever been taught as either a complete myth, or as just another example of a Grecian literary work, and never as anything even remotely close to a real possibility. Besides, Plato aside, none of the Greek myths concerning Jason (if _her_ Jason was the actual Jason the myths were based on), had had anything to do with Atlantis. The mythical Jason had been sent to Colchis to recover the Golden Fleece in order to reclaim his rightful throne over the city of Iolcus and Thessaly. There were similarities though, she had to admit. _Mythical_ Jasons' father had been called Aeson; _her_ Jasons' dad had been named Ace. Could Ace have been the anglicized form of Aeson? Alek snorted, that would have made Ace a king and Jason a prince. While she'd never met Ace, Mac's stories of his best friend hadn't exactly portrayed him as kingly, and no one was less like a prince than her Jason. He was none of the things a prince usually was, like: spoiled, arrogant, pampered, or particularily interested in how he looked. Before meeting Alek, he'd never owned a suit, preferring jeans and t-shirts and his wild curls tended to hang in his eyes, acting as another layer of defense against people seeing more than he wanted them too. He _was_ handsome, kind, funny, and smart though that would have made him even less like a real prince and more like someone out of a Disney movie.

No, she just couldn't picture Jason as a prince, much less as someone who would one day be a king. While she loved him dearly, one of the defining faults she'd always known him to have was an unearned sense of being not good enough. Whither it came from losing both parents and being bounced around the foster care system for so long or just plain low self-esteem, Jason never sought the praise and glory most of his peers craved. For him, it had simply been enough to have a roof over his head and someone to share his life with. It'd taken a long time for him to be convinced that Alek wasn't going to abandon him or that he truly deserved her love; that's one reason his proposal had come as such a surprise. Alek had thought perhaps she would have to be the one to eventually pop the question and had tentively planned to do so on their next summer vacation. Shaking her head to clear it of past memories, she scanned the crowds once more. ' _So how are the two_ _of us supposed to stop an imaginary city,'_ (she still had trouble believing Atlantis was real regardless of what her eyes and ears told her), ' _from being_ _destroyed by a as yet undetermined disaster?'_

In the stories, Atlantis was sunk as a result of the ruling king making a git out of himself and pissing off Poseidon, causing the sea god to sink the city. Poseidon _was_ the patron god here, so maybe they were supposed to save the city from drowning? But how could that be when Nona had told her that it'd _already_ _sunk_ along with the majority of the eastern edge of the Peloponnese peninsula after a catastrophic volcanic eruption sometime between 1200 and 300 BCE. Scientific evidence Mac had dug up from his friends at the World Monuments Trust had dated the destruction of Helios and the production of Ace's coins at around 400-300 BCE. That meant there was a gap between the two events of nearly 900 years. The maths just weren't adding up; ' _Maybe it's a bit of both_ ' she mused, ' _the_ _whole mess could be alternate timelines overlapping one another_ '. If watching years' worth of 'Dr. Who' had taught her anything, it was that there was always an alternate reality just waiting to sneak up on you.

The volcanic activity around the Mediterranean had been well known and documented during her time. Mineral and soil samples proved that there had been multiple eruptions all around the Greek city-states to varying degrees, before the catastrophic events that had caused the devastation of the island of Thera (now called Santorini), including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri, as well as the nearby islands and the coast of Crete. While Alek was logical enough to realize that there was no way of preventing a _natural_ disaster, maybe they were meant to somehow appease Poseidon so that he wouldn't cause the disaster in the first place; or if they couldn't save the actual city, at least maybe they could save as many lives as possible. Cities could be rebuilt, but lives were lost forever.

Trying to reign in her frustration, Alek decided a snack might help improve her mood, before she had to settle in for another bout of people watching. Moving down the row of vendors, she stopped in front of a stall that sold pastries similar to the Bougatsa she'd eaten the morning she met the seer Juliet. The stall was run by an elderly woman who exuded a grand-motherly air, "Greetings my lady, what can I do for you today?" the old baker smiled. "Hello Emineous, do you have any of those divine cream cakes I adore?" Alek inquired hopefully. "They sold out quickly this morning I'm afraid" Emineous replied regretfully, noticing the crestfallen face of the young woman. "Which is why I saved you two back," the elderly woman chuckled as she passed the cakes to Alek, who in turn pulled a silver coin from the leather pouch she had purchased her first day in the agora and passed it to the elderly baker. "Oh no my lady" Emineous shook her head, "that's too much, why that would buy you cream cakes for at least a week!" "I'll make you a deal" Alek offered, still holding out the coin, "I don't know how long my business in Atlantis will take, you take this coin now and supply me with cakes for the next few days. Does that seem fair?" Emineous nodded smiling.

Turning back toward the fountain, Alek noticed one of the bread vendors scowling at her as she passed by; he was an unpleasant fellow called Bakchos, who'd tried to cheat Alek by charging a gold coin for a meat pie on her first day in the city. She'd been saved by Emineous when the elderly woman had swooped in and threatened to call a city guard to arrest him for theft. Alek sent the man a cocky grin before resuming her seat on the side of the fountain and nibbling at a cake, her thoughts drifting back to wondering how long it would take to find Jason, and once she had how on earth they'd get back home. Gradually she became aware of raised voices behind her, one of which sounded achingly familiar; "…' _ **why not**_ _?!_ ' ' _ **Because the pigs don't owe me money**_ _ **!**_ _ **Oi! Get**_ _ **back here**_ ** _!_** _ **Thief!**_ '..." Alek jerked around just as a familiar head of wild brown curls flashed past her pelting down one of the twisting alleyways leading off the Sacred Way, the vendor Bakchos in hot pursuit. "JASON!" she shouted uselessly after him, as both men disappeared around a corner. Slumping back down to sit, Alek felt a wave of despair wash over her; she'd been so close, only to lose him again! Tears welled in her eyes and her shoulders shook with silent sobs as she buried her face in her hands.

Eventually she became aware of someone sitting beside her rubbing her back and cooing soothing sounds. Looking up she found Emineous next to her, the elderly womans eyes filled with concern. "There now my lady, don't cry," the elderly woman coaxed, "like as not the old goat will never catch the lad, so no harm done. It was only a stale loaf meant for the pigs anyway so I doubt Bakchos will even report it to the guards." "Do you know Jason, Emineous? The young man being chased?" Alek asked hopefully, daring to believe all might not be lost. Emineous frowned, "No miss I'm afraid I don't," Aleks' hopes fell, "but I do know the man he spoke of Hercules…" Emineous continued. "Hercules! Your joking, you mean there really is a Demi-God here called Hercules?!" Alek spluttered. "HA!" Emineous snorted, "As if the Gods would allow such, Demi-God my eye—more drunken lay-a-bout! That good for nothing is as like to be the one who talked the boy into stealing bread as not." Alek grasped the elderly womans hands, "I must find him Emineous; he may be able to lead me to Jason." "Forgive me for asking my lady" Emineous said concerned, "but who is this boy to you? You're obviously from a noble family…and—" "Please Emineous" Alek interrupted pleading, "just trust me when I say everything depends on my finding Jason." Emineous considered the girl a moment before nodding, "Very well, I'll show you the way to Hercules' house after I close up at midday, but I warn you, you may come to regret any dealings with that rogue." "Thank you!" Alek cried, giving the elderly woman a fierce hug. Emineous patted her awkwardly on the back before returning to her market stall.

The hours seemed to drag as Alek waited impatiently for the midday break to arrive. Bakchos had returned to his stall soaking wet and looking practically murderous not long after chasing after Jason. Alek wisely decided to refrain from asking him any questions about the brunette young man, opting instead to wait for Emineous to close her stall at midday before searching out the man Hercules to see if he knew of Jason's whereabouts. Most of the agoras vendors used the midday break to restock their merchandise in preparation for the evening's customers. Today when the bells rang signaling the noon break, Emineous closed up her stall and led Alek though the winding streets to the north of the Canopic Way, finally stopping at a door half-way down a narrow side street. "Hercules lives at the top of the stairs" Emineous told the brunette young woman, "shall I come up with you or come back for you later?" "I think I'll be fine on my own, and I can find my way back—but thank you again Emineous" Alek replied, hugging the elderly woman again, thinking this might be the last time she saw her if she succeeded in finding Jason. "Harrumph" Emineous scowled, "well if you're sure, but watch yourself youngling, Hercules may be fat and getting a bit long in the tooth, but there's few men in Atlantis stronger than he is." Alek watched the elderly baker make her way back toward the agora before turning back to the door and pushing it open. Climbing the stairs, she paused at the upper door when she heard raised voices within, "...right, I'm useless…not helping anybody, I'm sorry" a deep voice slurred. "…Oh, no, it's... Oh, it's all right" replied a higher voice, continuing, "What is wrong with everybody?!" The voices fell silent when Alek rapped sharply on the door; she heard scuffling noises inside then quiet. "I know your there" Alek called through the door, knocking again "I heard you arguing before…please I must speak with you!" The door jerked open and Alek found herself nearly nose to nose with a pair of beautiful hazel eyes that she'd thought she'd lost forever. Shock traveled through all her nerve endings, "Jason" she breathed as the blood drained from her face and her vision darkened. Swaying forward, her knees buckled under her as unconsciousness once again dragged her under.


	7. Chapter 7--Truth and Consequences

AN: Alek and Jason finally find one another again, but nothing is ever as simple as it first appears in Atlantis. Hard truths come out, and each of them must make peace with past mistakes or face an uncertain future.

* * *

 _ **Truth and Consequences**_

Jason felt his heart lurch at the sound of the womans voice on the other side of the door. ' _It can't possibly be who it sounds like_ ', he thought warily as he moved to open the door; ' _It's probably one of Hercules' old flings who can't take the hint_ '. Today really wasn't one of his best days; first he'd stolen the bread, (something he'd never done before) and been chased by the baker, then he'd compounded his crime by stealing meat from someone's private shrine/home which probably meant the owner would go hungry, and then to top it all off, he'd eaten the whole leg of mutton without a thought for sharing the ill-gotten gains with his two best friends. So when he reached the door and jerked it open, intent of telling whomever was on the other side to go away, he was understandably stunned to find himself staring into the pale gray-blue eyes he'd been dreaming about off and on for over a year. When Alek had whispered his name then collapsed, he'd panicked for a split second before lunging forward to catch the unconscious woman before she hit the floor, "Alek?—Alek! Pythagoras!" he shouted, bringing the ginger running from Hercules room where he'd been attempting to get their burly friend to bed.

Pythagoras skidded to a halt and gaped at his friend as Jason stood in the doorway clutching an unconscious young woman to his chest. "What happened—whatever did you do!" the mathematician demanded slightly panicked. "Nothing—she's fainted is all, now help me!" Jason snapped. "You need to lie her down, and elevate her feet" Pythagoras told him, moving out of the way as Jason swung the woman up into his arms and moved to the alcove that served as his bedroom, laying her down gently on the cot. Pythagoras removed the pillow from under her head and used it to prop up her feet before going to fetch a cloth and bowl of cool water. Setting the bowl on a table by the bed, he dipped the cloth in the water and wrung it out before gently sponging the young womans face. Taking in the richly colored garments and silver jewelry, Pythagoras knew the woman had to come from a noble family, and said as much as he continued his ministrations. Getting no response from Jason, he turned to find his brunette friend staring at their unknown guest like he'd seen a ghost. "Who do you suspose she is?" he asked Jason, taking in his friends' worried eyes and pale appearance. "The girl from my past—the one I was to marry, Alek…her name is Alek." Jason answered, right before another wave of panic gripped him, "This is wrong Pythagoras, all wrong" Jason groaned, stumbling to one of the benches around the table and dropping onto it, "She _can't_ be here; she was never _meant_ to be here! So how the bloody hell did she _get_ here?" he half whispered to himself.

Pythagoras frowned at Jason, "What do you mean? Surely this is a gift from the gods', aren't you pleased to have found her—or rather to have been found by her?" Pythagoras trailed off as Jason continued to stare mutely at the unconscious woman on the bed. Waving a hand in front of Jason's face, the ginger frowned nervously. There was only one reason he could think of for Jason to not be pleased to see his future wife, but Pythagoras didn't like to think of his dark haired friend as the type of man that would run away to avoid his responsibilities. Deciding the best course was to just give voice to his concerns, Pythagoras cleared his throat sternly, "I wouldn't have pegged you as someone who'd run away to avoid marriage Jason. Hercules definitely, but you…" Jason jerked as if he'd been slapped; staring at Pythagoras as if he'd just noticed the mathematician was still there. "I didn't run away, I'd never do that to her alright!" Jason retorted, "I love her—more than anything. It's just…" he faltered a bit, "It's not good that she's _here_ , in Atlantis. She wasn't supposed to be here; the Oracle said I'd never see her again. Besides how did she even _get_ here? I mean _I_ didn't even know where here was; it was just a freak accident I wound up here, so how did she even know to look for me here?" "But that's what's so wonderful about it, don't you see" Pythagoras replied seriously, "It can only be a gift from the Gods, as it would take something divine for such a thing to occur."

Jason knew better though, nothing ever came without a price. All his life he'd wondered and searched, trying to find a place he felt he belonged after losing his dad. When he finally went searching for answers, he'd wound up in Atlantis; only to discover that while he'd been born here, he'd arrived too late as his father had already died. He'd discovered that since arriving in Atlantis that he had somehow gained ' _divine_ ' speed, stamina, and agility only to be forced time and time again to use those ' _gifts_ ' trying to stay alive against a host of supernatural threats. Running his hands over his face, he sighed saying, "You know what it's like for us Pythagoras, we're always fighting or running away from something, Minotaur's, satyrs, guards; it's too dangerous here for her." Jason stared at the woman on the bed again and shook his head regretfully, "What am I to do Pythagoras?" he moaned. "For starters you're going to stop panicking because that won't help anything" Pythagoras informed him briskly, "Then you're going to come over here, as I think the young lady is starting to come round." Vacating his seat on the edge of the bed so Jason could sit down, Pythagoras moved to the kitchen, "I'll make an infusion of chamomile and mimulus; it will soothe her nerves at least."

Jason sat on the bed and gently brushed a few stray curls up off Aleks' brow as her eyes began to flutter open. "Ja—Jason? Is it really you?" Alek breathed as the beloved visage swam into focus. Jason grinned his adorable lop-sided smile, "All right love?" he asked quietly, and suddenly Aleks' heart was whole again. Tears gathered in her eyes and began streaming down her cheeks as she sat up and wrapped her arms around Jasons' neck burying her face in his shoulder, "It's really you, oh god, I can't believe it! I actually found you" she sobbed. Jason closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweet scent of jasmine in her hair before wrapping her in a fierce embrace, petting her back and hair as he tried to sooth her, even as he felt his own eyes start to burn. This was Alek— _his_ Alek; somehow she was here and even though he knew it was wrong—that Atlantis would be dangerous for her, he couldn't help but be grateful she was in his arms. When Jason tipped her head up and captured her lips with his own, Alek reveled in the warmth and taste of him, squirming closer to his chest, prompting him to tighten his arms around her. 'S _ince when was he so muscled?_ ' she thought, as she eagerly opened her lips to the hesitant probing of his tongue, allowing him to deepen the kiss, as their surroundings faded away and together they rejoiced in the feel of one another again. Gradually an insistent throat clearing finally filtered through Jasons' brain, prompting him to reluctantly drag his lips away from the woman in his arms, and look up at Pythagoras standing at the foot of his bed.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have the infusion ready," Pythagoras said, holding out a slightly steaming clay mug "but perhaps you've found a more effective remedy" he teased Jason. A faint flush spread across Jasons' cheeks as he realized he was still clutching Alek tightly. "Yeah, right," he stammered as he began disentangling himself, "Alek love, this is one of my best mates Pythagoras. Pythagoras this is my fiancé Alekto, Alek for short." Aleks' face registered disbelief before turning back to the brunette man beside her. "Are you having me on?" Alek regarded Jason quizzically, "Pythagoras— _the_ Pythagoras, the triangle guy?" "Why does everyone keep saying that?" Pythagoras exclaimed. Alek gazed from Jason to the ginger haired young man, suddenly realizing the brunette was serious. "Oh my god, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, bounding up off the bed and grabbing Pythagoras' hand, shaking it vigorously "I can't believe I'm actually getting to meet the father of modern maths! Your theorem got me through my A-levels—this is smashing, simply smashing—" Pythagoras looked at Jason confused, "Excuse me? Father of what—" "Alek! Easy love" Jason said, jumping in to rescue his befuddled housemate, "could you possibly give us a moment Pythagoras? I need to speak with Alek alone" he said before pulling Alek out to the balcony.

Once they had some relative privacy, Jason murmured frantically "Pythagoras hasn't worked out his theory yet! You can't tell him or anyone where we came from, or anything about the future—it could radically change it or just end up destroying everything." "Don't you think your being a bit melodramatic?" Alek smirked teasingly. "Have you looked around where you are?" Jason quirked a brow, pointing out the balcony window at the sprawling city surrounding them, "Nothing is impossible here…just trust me and don't say anything all right." "Sorry, sorry, this all just has me a bit daft" Alek relented in a whisper. Jason led her back into the main room where Pythagoras still held the cup with the infusion. "Pythagoras, we need to go to the temple—there are some things we need to ask the Oracle. We should be back before dusk" Jason assured the ginger, before he had the chance to argue. Nodding reluctantly, Pythagoras turned to Alek, "It was a true pleasure meeting you my lady; perhaps we can meet again tomorrow" Pythagoras bowed politely over Aleks' hand. "It was lovely meeting you as well Pythagoras, but please just call me Alek" she smiled, "perhaps we can all have lunch tomorrow in the dining room of the inn where I'm lodging…"

Jason frowned as he observed his fiancé and best friend; Alek had obviously been in Atlantis for at least a day, but how and when had she arrived? And exactly how had she gotten her clothes; he couldn't imagine a random fishing boat leaving clothes fit for royalty lying on a beach. He realized abruptly that the conversation had carried on around him without his being aware, and that Alek had spoken about an inn. "What's this about an inn?" he asked, the question coming out a bit sharper than he'd meant it to. Alek and Pythagoras both looked at him strangely, "Sorry" he said sheepishly, "it's just a lot of the inns have taverns and well…it isn't safe for a woman to be on her own…" he trailed off when he noticed Alek frowning. "Ioustos runs a perfectly respectable inn just off the Sacred Way, a girl from some temple or other, who fou—helped me…when I first arrived, assured me that it was safe." Alek informed them, hoping no one noticed her slip. "I've been staying there the past couple of weeks in fact, what with not knowing how or when I'd find you" she told Jason. Jason scowled as an unpleasant sourness settled in his stomach ' _just who was this Ioustos_ ' he speculated. Pythagoras was regarding his brunette friend as if he'd suddenly grown two heads and Alek had taken an involuntary step back "Jason, are you alright?" she stammered. Jason tried to get a grip on himself internally, ' _What the bloody hell is wrong with me today?_ ' he thought, trying to rein in his temper. He'd never gotten jealous of Alek before, granted she'd never given him reason to be, she wasn't like that. Besides both of them had decided early on that they would always be honest with one another. Because of this, they'd rarely ever argued, and when they had it'd never been serious; he'd certainly never felt like ripping anyones' head off before, which had been his initial reaction to this Ioustos sniffing around _his_ fiancé dammit! "Sorry Alek, I'm fine…I-I guess I'm just in a bit of shock still at seeing you, but I'm good really. Are you ready to go?" he asked to forestall any more awkward questions until they were alone at least. "Sure" Alek replied waving at Pythagoras and following Jason out the front door.

They made their way back to the agora, skirting around the bread vendors to avoid Jason being seen by Bakchos. Alek showed Jason the inn where she was lodging; it turned out to be the same one he, Pythagoras and Hercules had hid in with baby Oedipus when they had been running from the guards. When Alek inquired if he would prefer talking there, Jason had shook his head no, "We'd better not, it wouldn't be proper for you to have a man in your room" he replied gravely. "Why ever not?" Alek spluttered indignantly, "It's not as if I don't know you, we're engaged after all, and besides it's a bit late to get all proper now as we've lived together for over two years don't you think?" "You don't understand" Jason insisted "it would be dangerous for you, especially if people thought you were a-a, umm, tart" he stammered flushing, "trust me." "Fine" Alek relented, "where can we be seen together then?" "Follow me," Jason said, continuing along the Sacred Way with Alek trailing behind. Reaching the inner courtyard of the temple, Jason guided Alek to the side of the massive steps leading up to the sanctum and sat down in the little shade afforded by the temples shadow. "Ok" Jason coaxed, "start from the beginning and tell me everything. Start with how you got here."

Alek described the nightmarish day Mac had told her Jasons' sub was lost. She recounted the details of Jasons' memorial, skipping the part where she'd been hospitalized, (no need to worry Jason with that now right? It was all in the past—or was it the future?) before going on to relate how Mac had finally broken down and told Alek the story Jasons' dad Ace had told Mac about where Jason and he were really from, as well as his theory of what might have happened to Jason when the sub was lost. "Hang on a sec, you're telling me that Mac knew about all this, about Atlantis, about what actually happened to my dad?" Jason asked incredulously, surging to his feet, fists clenched at his sides. "That's just fan-fucking-tastic—he's been lying to me my entire bloody life!" Jasons' voice had steadily risen until he was shouting. "Jason, calm down! Your scaring the natives, for Christs' sake", Alek admonished, casting a wary eye at the guards stationed at either end of the courtyard. "I don't think Mac actually believed your dads story at first," she continued quieter as she coaxed Jason to sit back down beside her. "Let's be honest, who would've, I know I sure didn't; but when your sub was recovered, and there was no indication of a body, well…let's just say some people don't handle grief at all well and leave it at that, shall we?"

"Ok fair enough, I'm willing to temporarily forget Mac's a lying sod for now, but that still doesn't explain how you got here" Jason growled starting to pace again and glaring when a guard turned to watch him. "No it doesn't," Alek agreed tightly, her own temper starting to fray, "but if you'd sit down and stop snapping at me; I'll tell you." Jason looked at Alek startled, as if just realizing she was there, "I'm sorry" he apologized, sitting back down and wrapping his arms around his knees with a sigh. "I know this has got to all seem insane to you, and none of it is your fault" he dropped his head on his forearms, "I'm the most sorry you're here, well not that you're here, but that you got dragged into this." Looking over, he cupped Aleks' cheek, "Please believe me when I say I'll do whatever I have to, to protect you. I swear." Alek felt her irritation melt away, "I know you would my love" she assured him, "and believe me when I say it wouldn't matter where you got lost to, I'd move heaven and hell to find you as well." Alek closed her eyes as Jason leaned over and gently kissed her lips. She basked in the warmth of his lips and the calloused roughness of his hand cupping her cheek, making a small moue of disappointment when he ended it too quickly. Jason grinned at her "Ah-ah-ah no major PDA remember?" Alek scowled at him momentarily before changing tactics "Ok, whatever you say sweetie" she smiled innocently at him. "Why am I suddenly worried?" Jason said suspiciously. "Because you know me and you should have remembered that paybacks a bitch" Alek replied, grinning evilly. Jason chuckled "I'll take my chances, now fess up, how exactly did you end up here?" he asked curiously.

"Believe it or not" Alek grinned conspiratorially, "I've got connections in high places" she motioned upwards. "I don't understand" Jason said confused. "Well" Alek murmured checking to make sure no one was near, "according to Nona, you're engaged to a bona fide descendant of a demi-goddess…" Alek went on to explain all about Nonas' theory of where and how the family was descended, the ley line map, their subsequent travels to Greece, the ritual in the cave; everything up to and including Alek waking up naked on the beach and her search for Jason which ended with her fainting on his doorstep. "…I can't believe I actually did that; it's so typically girly!" Alek sniffed condescendingly. Jason tried to swallow his amusement for several seconds at her irritation that anyone would dare consider her a damsel-in-distress, before his whole body began to shake with suppressed laughter. "What's so funny may I ask?" Alek inquired with some asperity, arching a brow to which Jason exploded with laughter. "Y-Your fa-fa-face!" he snickered, trying desperately to get his mirth under control, "Never let it be said by anyone that you're a wilting violet, at least not if they wants to keep their head on their shoulders." "Quite right!" Alek replied, a smile spreading across her lips, "but what we have to figure out now, is how in blazes we're going to get back home."

Jason suddenly felt as if he'd been dunked by a bucket of ice water, ' _Did he even want to go back? Leave Atlantis, his friends, and his destiny; and for what—a job he'd been good at, but never really felt passionate about? A father figure who'd lied to him his entire life and a house that hadn't really felt like home until after Alek became a part of it? But what about Alek, was it fair to expect her to give up her family? To live with him in a place where she would be considered his property, where people routinely died from simple injuries or diseases modern medicine had eradicated decades ago?_ ' "I don't know if we _can_ ever get home, or at least if I can anyway, but your right—we have to try to get you back home at least" he responded dejectedly, all while trying to ignore the agonized twisting in his gut and the voice in his head that was whining that it wasn't fair dammit, he'd only just found her again! "What are you on about?" Alek demanded, "Have you completely gone off your trolley?" Now Alek was the one getting worked up, "If you think for one second, that I'm leaving here without you; then you're very much mistaken! We go home together or we bloody well don't go!" she hissed, and for a fraction of a second, Jason could have sworn her eyes actually glowed silver like the momentary flash of heat lightening left in a night sky. He held his hands up, palms forward in the universal sign of surrender, "Ok, ok, calm down no need to lose the plot" he grinned to take any sting out of the words; "We should probably go inside and see the Oracle anyway, she'll help, just don't expect to understand anything. ' _The images she sees are not always clear_ ' Jason intoned deeply; mocking the words he'd so often heard when the Oracle didn't want to give him a straight answer. Alek snorted, recalling Nonas' warning about seers; maybe the questions hadn't been clear she thought wirily, after all Jason wasn't known for his stellar attention span.

Following him into the temple, Alek abruptly came to a standstill. "Blimey!" she exclaimed startling at the echo that rolled around the vast space, "Would you look at this place?! It's amazing—" she continued quieter, turning in multiple circles trying to see everything while also attempting to follow Jason between the massive pillars. "Yeah, but you'll get used to it—now come on, your starting to look like a tourist" he laughed as he had to steer Alek away from walking into one of flaming braziers periodically spaced among the pillars. Taking her hand he led her to the steps descending into the inner sanctum, stopping to speak to an older severe looking man wearing a reddish purple robe underneath a white linen chiton. "Is she free Melas? There is someone I'd like to introduce to her." "Unfortunately, the Oracle is not available" the priest replied regretfully, "The Queen has sensed trouble coming in her dreams; the Oracle is with her now. They make offerings to appease the Gods, but tell me, who is this that is with you?" Jason cast a quick glance around before leaning closer to the old man, "This is Alekto and she's someone very special to me, _from before_." The priest gasped, "You are the one Cassandra dreamed of" he accused, stepping toward Alek, "You should not be here!" Alek instinctively jerked away from the venom in the man's voice, even as Jason automatically stepped protectively in between the two.

Jason glowered at the priest, his eyes glittering dangerously, "Come on Love, we'll come back another time" he said drawing Alek to him while still keeping himself between her and the clearly agitated Melas. Keeping a firm grip on her hand, Jason quickly lead her out of the temple and back toward the agora; Alek slowed tugging on Jasons' hand, finally managing to get his attention enough to stop. "Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Alek asked. Jason seemed to be having an internal debate before shaking his head, "It's nothing, the priests can just be a bit weird that's all; it's nothing for you to worry about." Turning back around he tried drawing Alek along again, but she dug in her heels refusing to follow him, "Jason Alexandros Donnelly, I'm not taking another step until you talk to me, now what the hell is going on?" Jason sighed; he'd forgotten how stubborn Alek could be when she thought he was trying to hide in his own head. "Really Alek it's nothing, can we talk about it later? It's just it's getting late, and you still haven't met Hercules…so can we just skip it for now and enjoy the evening…please?" he gave her his best pleading wide eyed look. "Argh!" she huffed, "I hate it when you do that! It's cheating and you bloody well know it." Jason grinned at her, "Does that mean we can go now" he teased. "Not so fast mister" Alek declared, marching toward the remaining vendors in the agora, "we may be in ancient Greece, but I for one am not about to show up at dinner time to someone's home without bringing something." Jason flushed, "We don't have to stay that long, in fact why don't I take you back to your room—you must be tired…" Alek gave him a funny look, "No I'm not tired, besides I'd like to meet your friends." "That's great, I want you to meet them as well" Jason replied fidgeting, "but with it being a curfew night I might not be able to get you back to the inn in time…" he trailed off when he realized Alek wasn't buying his excuses.

"It's been awhile since we've been able to find work" Jason admitted, looking down embarrassed, "there's no food in the house" Alek frowned, "Is that why you stole the bread?" Jason jerked his head around to stare at her, the denial dying on his lips at her expression, "Yeah" he admitted ashamed, unwilling to admit that the bread wasn't the only thing he'd stolen that day. "Follow me" Alek said, taking his hand and leading him over to the remaining vendors. Most of the merchants had already packed up, but there were still enough left that Alek was reasonably sure that she could find what she needed. Three vendors later, she had finally procured a half a dozen small pies stuffed with a mixture of apples, raisins, nuts, and honey, two smallish crocks of soft cheese, a pot of olives, a large loaf of bread, and several bunches of grapes as well as two amphorae of wine. The merchants packed the food in a basket she bought before passing the wine to Jason. Alek paid the men from the coins in the leather pouch tied to the girdle at her waist and turned ready to follow Jason back to his house, only to find him staring at her with a peculiar look on his face. "What?" she asked, "did I get too much?" "No" he said still staring at her, "but…" "But what, did I get enough wine…too much wine, what?" Alek asked afraid she'd somehow over stepped herself and the purchases might offend or embarrass his or his housemates' pride. Jason snorted, "You can never get too much wine for Hercules" he laughed, "no it's only…where did you come by a pouch of Atlantian coins?" "Oh!" Alek gasped, relieved it wasn't anything serious, "I completely forgot, actually it's yours" she said, trying to hand the pouch to Jason.

"No, wait what? How is it mine?" he asked confused. "Apparently, when your dad fled the civil war that was tearing this place apart, he managed to take a fair bit of money with him." Alek replied, sitting on the edge of her favorite fountain and drawing Jason down beside her. "Mac said when your dad disappeared, that his estate left Mac the remainder of the coins and guardianship of you." "Some guardian" Jason muttered, his earlier anger bubbling up again. "That's not fair and you know it" Alek retorted, frowning at the brunette man beside her, "Mac loves you like a son Jason; he was gutted when he thought you died." "Not enough to stop him lying to me my whole life though was it?" Jason stated bitterly, "he could have told me the truth; maybe not when it first happened, not when I was a kid, but I've not been a kid for years." Alek reached out and brushed her fingertips along his jaw, as she gazed into sorrowful hazel green eyes, "Could he Jason? Could he have told you about all this; made you believe it? Or would it have changed how you felt about him—made you worry, and wonder if the man who was the closest thing you had to a father…to family, had gone insane?"

Alek looked away, fighting the hitch in her voice, "Trust me when I tell you that one of the worst things you can experience is having the people you trust most, that are supposed to love you, believe that you're insane." "He convinced you didn't he," scoffed Jason, missing the catch in Aleks' voice, "You're the most practical person I know next to Pythagoras, why would I have been any different?" Jason would never forgive Mac for endangering Alek no matter if it was for him, Alek was too precious to Jason to ever make endangering her an option, "Instead he sent you here even though he had no idea if that ritual business would work or what was involved—look what happened, you nearly died for god's sake!" "No one was _sent_ here, we didn't exactly have a manual you know; besides I'm here because I was the only one who could make the ritual work, and everyone knew I had nothing to lose!" she snapped. "Mac loves you, he'd do anything to see you safe and happy—we all would, but let's face facts shall we?" she continued more calmly, "There was no knowing if our plan would work, [it didn't by the way, you were meant to come to me, not vice versa], irregardless we'd no idea if we would be able to bring you back, or what condition you'd be in if we did!"

"What do you mean you had ' _nothing to lose_ '," Jason glowered, "you could have been seriously hurt, you could have died!—in fact you may have died, at least there anyway." "So could've you! Besides…" Alek dropped her eyes to the ground, "I was already dead; my body just hadn't caught on yet." Jason flinched, nearly dropping the wine, "What are you on about?! What do you mean you were dead?" Alek rolled her eyes, "Not _literally_ obviously, but it was hard, especially at first, when…" she swallowed past the lump in her throat, "when they told me that…you'd d-d-died." This time Alek couldn't stop the stammer in her voice, or prevent the hot tears from coursing down her cheeks. God she hated crying; hated the helpless feeling it caused in her stomach. She'd never been one of those weepy females who teared up at every change in emotion. No dammit, she was _not_ going to fall apart again today; she'd just lectured Jason on accepting hard truths, maybe it was time to face some herself. Taking a deep breath, Alek faced her lover squarely, "There are things I need to tell you, things that happened when you disappeared. You're not going to like most of it, in fact your likely going to be furious with me," she stalled, "but here goes. Yes Mac was the one who originally tried to come up with a plan of trying to bring you home after Her Majesty's coastguard recovered your sub but couldn't find a body. He also took one of the coins your dad left him and had a whole battery of tests run on it, turns out it was about three thousand years old. That's when he remembered the wild story he said your dad told him one night when they were on a bender right before Ace disappeared. At the time, Mac thought Ace was taking the piss out of him, but when you disappeared as well…it was all too coincidental."

"Ok, I can sort of buy that scenario, but that still doesn't explain why I would be angry with _you_ ," Jason tipped Aleks' chin up when she refused to look at him, "Alek?" Alek sighed before looking into Jasons' warm hazel eyes, "Mac was desperate to try anything because he was terrified I'd go barmy a-again." "Again?" He asked brows drawing together. "I stopped talking for a while and I may have skipped a meal here and there…" she trailed off at the growing look of horror on Jasons' face. "How bad Alek, tell me all of it now" Jason demanded, trying to steel himself. "Promise me you'll stay calm; we can't really afford to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure—" she hedged. Jason snorted derisively, "Not bloody likely, the daft gits' would have to catch us first" he muttered, before refocusing on Alek, "Come on, stop stalling." "All right, all right!" Alek replied, throwing her hands up in surrender, "Christ your worse than Nona. You want it all, here it is; I got placed in Bedlam for six weeks because I lost fourteen kilo's in a bit over a month, and mum had me committed" she admitted, avoiding Jasons' gaze. "What else?" Jason replied frowning, "I know there's more because I know your mum. Yes she was probably worried sick, but I also know you don't get remanded to psych just for losing weight, even if it was fourteen kilo's."

Alek turned away not wanting to see the disgust and disappointment in his eyes when he heard the rest; she couldn't blame him, she was disgusted with herself. "I had to be taken to A&E" she admitted softly, "I hadn't been sleeping well since the ac-accident; I'd tried the OTC remedies, but I was sleeping an hour—maybe two at most a night. Then I started having these nightmares of you drowning; it got…bad" she admitted. "Finally Mum convinced me to see the GP. He gave me temazepam, one a night as needed, for two weeks, but it wasn't helping either. I hadn't slept in over four straight days; the fifth night I managed to doze off on the couch when it hit…the dream" Alek shuddered, "You were drowning again but this time you weren't in the sub, I could see you, but it was like I was somewhere above you." Her eyes grew distant as she relived the nightmare, "You were begging me to save you, but I couldn't move, I tried but I just couldn't. I tried to scream for help but nothing came out. Then there was a woman there, she was laughing—I tried to plead with her to save you but she just disappeared." By this time tears were streaming from her eyes and great wracking sobs were clawing their way up out of her throat, making it difficult to breathe. "The last thing I heard was you asking me why I wouldn't help you; that you loved me, and then you disappeared under the water. I woke up screaming for you, that's when I remembered the pills…" Alek trailed off unable to force the rest out.

Grief-stricken, Jason looked at Alek; he didn't need to hear the rest to know what happened. He reached out and carefully wrapped her in the protective embrace of his arms, nestling her head on his shoulder, "It's ok Alek, it's going to be ok now" he soothed, "we're together now love, and I swear to you we're going to stay that way; I promise." "I'm so sorry Jason; I j-just couldn't…" "Shht, none of this is your fault babe" Jason choked around his own tears, ' _I did this_ ' he thought, ' _it's my fault Alek suffered and now she might be stuck in a time and place where missing a meal here and there is a weekly occurrence and that isn't even considering the other dangers we face._ ' They sat together in the gathering gloom of dusk as the last of the vendors packed up for the evening, until Jason roused himself to walk Alek to the inn where she was staying. "You can't carry all that by yourself," she indicated the food basket and the wine, "besides I don't want you to go, what if I wake up and it's all a dream" she pleaded. "I'll be here first thing in the morning, as soon as its dawn" Jason promised, kissing her one last time before hefting the bounty she had provided and heading for home. He knew weighed down by the basket and wine, he'd not be able to out run the guards if he was out any later unless he abandoned it and he wasn't going to leave Aleks' gift behind for the palace lackeys to enjoy. ' _Why do I feel so tired_ _suddenly_ ' Jason wondered fuzzily. Reaching the house, he banged on the door with his foot waiting for one of his housemates to let him in, before staggering over the threshold as Pythagoras swung open the door.

"Did you rob someone?" Pythagoras gasped when Jason shoved an amphora into his hands before setting the rest of the supplies on the table, "Of course not," he huffed, slightly winded "does it look like I could out run guards packing this lot? It's a gift." "From whom?" Hercules asked as he came out of his room and took the wine from Pythagoras, "the princess?" "What? Oh no, from Alek" Jason replied muzzily, the question finally filtering to his brain. His joints were aching and there was a low pitched thrumming in his ears that sounded almost like a heartbeat underwater, "I promised to pick her up from the inn in the morning and bring her here to meet you." "Are you feeling all right?" Pythagoras asked the brunette worriedly, "I can make you a tonic…" "No, I'm fine, just a bit tired" Jason replied, bracing his arms on the table, "it's been a long day." Hercules exchanged a worried frown over Jasons' head with Pythagoras, "A good meal should perk you up" Hercules clapped the lad on the back, nearly driving Jason to his knees, only to jerk backwards when the brunette surged up into a fighting stance, his hazel eyes dark with anger. "Jason!" Pythagoras exclaimed loudly, "what is going on?!"

Jason turned toward his ginger haired friend, a confused expression on his face as he visibly relaxed. "Sorry" he replied, looking at first one friend then the other, "I'm just really knackered; I think I'll turn in early. Maybe tomorrow we can take Alek on a tour of the city." "Aren't you going to eat something first?" Hercules asked gruffly. "I've eaten already" Jason replied, forgetting for a moment that his friends didn't know about the stolen meat he'd eaten earlier. "Have a romantic supper for two did we?" Hercules smirked, "well no need to worry, I'm sure I can finish your portion if you're full." Pythagoras rolled his eyes, "Trust me my friend no one doubts the abilities of your appetite," he told the burly wrestler, passing Hercules a pie and one small bunch of grapes, "but we shall save the majority of this feast for lunch tomorrow when the provider of our bounty can join us." Hercules looked affronted for a moment and then shrugged taking a bite of his pie. Jason smiled at his friends, "Enjoy it" he said while stifling a yawn, "I'm going to bed." He turned towards the alcove and collapsed onto his cot, sleep claiming him immediately.


	8. Chapter 8--Family Reunions

AN: I'd like to thank all of the readers out there who have stuck with me thus far. The story is going to start picking up some steam now as it moves along. Again thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites; it really gives my creative side a boost whenever I see a new one. As always, Atlantis and all principal characters are owned by the BBC; I only own my original storyline and Oc's. Lyrics quoted in this chapter are from the song 'Demons' and are the property of the band Imagine Dragons.

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 **Family Reunions**

Pythagoras jolted awake early the next morning, not long after the sun had risen. It took several moments for him to realize it was the silence that pervaded the house that had woken him. Usually by this time Jason would have been up and stirring around, his quiet rumblings as he kindled the fire to make breakfast, or repaired his leather breastplate alerting Pythagoras that a new day had begun. Rising quietly, the young genius slipped on his sandals and went into the main room to see about breakfast. Pulling aside the curtain that served as a door to his room, Pythagoras automatically looked to the alcove where Jason slept, finding the bed was indeed empty. ' _He must have already left to collect Alek_ ' Pythagoras mused rubbing his eyes and yawning as he shuffled around the table heading for the kitchen area, when he abruptly tripped sprawling on the floor. Rolling over Pythagoras looked to see what he'd tripped over this time, only to discover it was his brunette best friend who had been curled up by the fire like a faithful hound. "What are you doing?" Pythagoras asked, as he picked himself up and quirked an eyebrow at the brunette on the floor. "I... um...don't know." Jason admitted trying to appear unconcerned, while privately wondering how the bloody hell he'd gotten there. Getting to his feet, the brunette warrior stretched out the kinks in his back before dropping down onto one of the benches gathered round the kitchen table beside Pythagoras. "You thought the floor would be more comfortable than your bed, did you?" Pythagoras teased his friend as both young men turned toward the sound of grunts and moans coming from the other room.

Hercules shuffled out of his room and slumped down onto one of the benches next to Jason, looking distinctly hung over. "Does no one in this house have any respect for a man's rest? What's all the racket about?" the big man demanded gruffly, as he cradled his aching head. Pythagoras wordlessly handed the burly man a cup of water. "What's this—water? Breakfast, I need breakfast not water!" Hercules growled at the ginger. "You need to hydrate" Pythagoras told him primly, "you can have breakfast once Jason returns with Alek." "What?!" cried Hercules, "I can't wait that long look—at me, there's going to be nothing left of me soon!" Jason nudged Pythagoras grinning, "Not that soon!" he teased the big man, before springing up from the bench, and fleeing out the door to avoid the cup of water Hercules flung at him.

Jason set off toward the inn whistling a tune to one of the songs he'd had on his iPod back home, [' _When the days are cold, and the cards all fold and the saints we see are all made of gold…_ '] Alek showing up out of the blue in Atlantis was definitely going to cause some unexpected changes in all their lives, he mused. While it was a definite surprise that surpassed anything he could have expected, her being here could pose some serious difficulties. For starters, they were going to have to figure out a way of keeping her out of the eye of the palace; especially Ariadne's. Also while she and Jason might have grown up taking for granted things like due process of law, and equal rights for all people, those concepts were alien here. People lived by the Kings good will and nothing more, so if nothing else, Alek was going to be in for one hell of a culture shock. [' _When your dreams all fail and the ones we hail, are the worst of all and the bloods run stale_ ']; with the agora in sight, Jason slowed his pace as he considered all his options. Time was the big question now, which _time_ was he meant to be in? He'd grown up and lived in the modern world his entire life, or so he'd believed, but according to the Oracle he'd been born in Atlantis nearly 3000 years before Alek had been born; it really gave a whole new meaning to the term ' _robbing the_ _cradle_ '. He was determined though that whatever happened he and Alek were going to stay together, no matter what the gods, fate, or anyone else tried to put in the way as obstacles [' _I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you…_ '].

The agora was already crowded with vendors setting up for the day, with dozens of porters delivering merchandise from the docks and warehouses of the industrial district, and farmers with carts piled high with all the varied produce of the outlying farms and orchards all vying to be the quickest in delivering their wares. Jason had planned to skirt around the bakery end of the market to avoid running into the merchant that had chased him yesterday, thus giving the man time to cool off in case he was still angry, when he suddenly caught a faint whiff of jasmine mixed with a strange spicy musk that reminded him of chocolate, and heat lightning, and sex. The scent pulled at his nerve endings, and tightened his muscles; his whole body was suddenly attuned to this smell and his focus sharpened as he unconsciously began the hunt for the source. [' _…but the beast inside; there's nowhere we can hide…_ ']

Working his way through the market, Jason followed the enticing aroma across the agora, somehow able to separate it from the myriad aromas of perfumes, incense, herbs, animals, and foodstuffs that blended together to assault the senses of all within the market. Nearing the one part of the agora he'd planned to avoid this morning, Jason zeroed in on the target of the smell that had taken hold of his brain; glancing up he spotted Alek at one of the stalls, she was talking to an elderly woman with greying hair, who was packing what appeared to be a large quantity of pastries into a small basket. The spicy jasmine smell seemed to be rolling off Alek in waves, and Jason couldn't understand how it wasn't driving every man in the agora as crazy as it was driving him. ' _That may be a good thing_ ' he mused grinning toothily, ' _it'll keep the body count down._ ' Jason was an easy going laid back guy normally, but for some reason this morning, he would have no qualms about putting the small dagger he carried on his belt though the throat of any man stupid enough to touch his beloved. Quietly he worked his way through the crowd, intent on his target. As he came up behind Alek, he snaked his arms around her waist and buried his nose in her hair, intent on losing himself in the smell of her; unfortunately, he was so caught up in his desire, that he forgot for a moment where he was and that his target wasn't your typical defenseless female. Several things happened at once; a foot stomped down on his instep at the same time as an elbow buried itself in his ribcage. Before he had time to react, Alek jerked out of his arms just as a knee connected with his groin and something extremely hard came down on top of his head causing stars to explode in his brain just before blackness claimed him.

* * *

Alek had reacted instinctively when someone grabbed her from behind. Years of self-defense lessons and a sprinkling of mixed martial arts classes had prepared her for the dangers young women often found themselves in on a university campus or darkened city streets. When she whirled around to deliver the blow to the groin, she'd only registered the fact that it was indeed a dark haired man behind her, so initially she had been relieved when Emineous had jumped in to help by clobbering the assailant over the head with an iron baking sheet. It wasn't until she rolled the man over that she realized it was Jason. "Oh bugger!" she groaned, dropping to her knees beside the unconscious brunette man, "help me see if he's all right" she pleaded to Emineous. "Serves him right, attacking a woman, and a noble one at that!" Emineous huffed in outrage, "The city guards won't be easy with this one; no doubt they'll take his hands if not his life" she spat. Alek felt the blood drain from her face, "WHAT!" she cried shocked, "No! That's barbaric! Besides he's not a criminal, he's my fiancé!"

Emineous looked at Alek confused, "What's a fiancé?" she asked Alek. The young woman resisted the urge to cackle hysterically, "He's the man I'm to marry; the one I've been searching for, now please help me get him up!" Alek patted Jasons' face and was relieved to see his eyes flutter open after only a minute or two. He stared at Alek confused for a moment before realization dawned that he was lying on the ground in the middle of the agora after being knocked arse over elbow by his 5'1", 122 lb. fiancé. "OW!" he complained holding his head after sitting up to quickly, "Why in bloody hell did you attack me?" "I'm sorry!" Alek wailed wringing her hands, "you surprised me; you know I could never handle being snuck up on, remember what happened to Joey on Halloween?" Jason did remember—he and Alek had been dating nearly six months; they were heading back to Aleks' dorm from the cinema when Joey had jumped out from behind a tree wearing a plastic hockey mask and screaming like a madman. Before Jason knew what was happening, Alek had kicked out his best mates' knee and broken his nose with a hard upper cut strike using the heel of her palm like someone straight out of a Bruce Lee movie. They had spent the remainder of the night in A&E getting Joey patched up and fitted with a leg brace he'd had to wear till spring and convincing the campus police it was all a misunderstanding.

Jason slowly climbed to his feet once he'd ascertained that nothing was broken. Grimacing at the tenderness of his ribs not to mention his goolies, he supposed it could have been worse; at least his friends hadn't been there to see him humiliated. Hercules would have laughed himself sick and never let Jason live it down, while Pythagoras would have insisted on a full examination right there in the agora and then forced one of his foul tasting tonics on Jason the instant they got home. Turning to Alek he grinned sheepishly, "I could have used your fighting skills a time or two over the last year; those satyrs wouldn't have stood a chance when we were rescuing Medusa." "Rescued Medusa?" Alek queried, "Isn't she the gorgon that turns people to stone?" Jason paled, "Not yet she isn't" he gritted, "and hopefully she never will be, not if we have anything to do with it anyway." Alek smiled, "That's one of the reason's I love you so much," she took hold of his hand, "you're genuinely one of the good guys. Now there's someone I want you to meet" she said tugging him over towards Emineous' market stall. "Emineous, this is my fiancé Jason—Jason this is Emineous, she makes the best Bougatsa in the city. Emineous is the one who helped me find you yesterday; she has sort of been looking out for me since I arrived." Emineous nodded at Jason, "I'm sorry I hit you so hard young man, but you can never be too careful, especially in the agora—too many thieves and scoundrels about, and your betrothed is entirely too trusting." Jason grinned sheepishly at the elderly woman, remembering his foray into theft just the day before. "No worries," he replied, "it was my own fault for forgetting I was in Atlantis instead of the UK." Emineous looked at him strangely, but before she could reply, Jason whipped his head around and appeared to sniff the air.

Somehow, and Jason had no idea how, he'd picked up the sour yeasty smell of the merchant he'd stolen the bread from coming towards the agora. That in itself wouldn't have concerned the brunette young man, but he'd also picked up the arrogant nasally voice of Heptarian, probably on his way to complete his daily inspection of the garrison at the Telapias gate. Jason suspected that Heptarian would love nothing more than to have an excuse to arrest him and drag him before Ariadne and the court as a thief, and this time he didn't think he'd get the reprieve of being sent to the Bull Court. "We need to go," he muttered quietly to Alek watching the people on the Sacred Way, "now." Alek frowned, "Why?" she asked looking toward the crowds milling up and down the wide though-fare, trying to spot whatever had spooked Jason. "Besides," she continued, "Emineous knows of a merchant that might have work for you and your friends." Jason knew that he'd never get Alek out of the agora without hearing about the job, not without risking exposing her to the danger Heptarian posed, so he quickly asked the elderly baker for the details of the merchant looking to hire, thanking her for the information, and promising one of them would contact the man as soon as Jason got Alek back to the house.

Taking Aleks' hand, he managed to draw her to the far side of the market before she realized that she'd left her pastries at Emineous' stall. Tugging on Jasons' hand, she explained about forgetting the treat she'd gotten to share with Jason and his friends for breakfast before turning to head back to her friends stall. "Alek wait" Jason called sharply, "can't you get it later or even tomorrow? I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind and besides you've spoilt us enough, anymore and Hercules will be trying to marry you himself" he wheedled. Alek cocked her head at him curiously like he'd suddenly started speaking in a foreign language, "You're acting so strange lately" she said, staring at him like she could read the answers to his behavior on his skin, "it'll only take a moment, we're just across the market—" "It might make us late to meet the merchant about the job" Jason insisted, thinking fast "remember I told you last evening it was getting difficult to find work lately and I know the boys will be pleased to have a chance to make some coins."

Alek considered Jason a moment longer before nodding, "Your right," she conceded, "helping your friends is more important, but I really wanted to do something nice for them as a 'thank you' for all the help and kindness they've shown you since you arrived." "Trust me," Jason assured her, "the food and wine you sent home last night is enough. You've met Pythagoras already, now I want you to meet Hercules as well." Alek obligingly followed Jason out of the agora and into the twisting streets leading off the Canopic Way. "This place makes London seem like a cake walk," Alek mused, "how they expect anyone to be able to find anything is beyond me." Jason chuckled wirily, "You'll get used to it" he assured her; "you just have to learn the major landmarks and then count the streets." Alek contemplated what Jason said a moment before finally getting up the nerve to ask him the one question she'd been worrying over ever since she'd regained consciousness on the beach and realized where she was, "Do you think we'll be here long enough for me to learn how to navigate the city?"

Jason stopped walking and turned to Alek, "I've been here just over a year now" he told her, "when I first arrived I was in a sort of shock, then once I talked to the Oracle and found out that I had been born here, things in my life just clicked. You know I was never really comfortable in England; sure there were things I've missed, [mostly you, and maybe modern medicine a few times], but here I'm actually needed." "Needed for what, by whom?" Alek questioned, "You realize that you're risking your life for the same people who your father had to run from to keep the two of you alive? The same ones who may have murdered your mother? Who sends you and your friends into danger regularly with no thought to _how_ or _if_ you'll survive?" Alek was starting to lose control of her temper, "Were you even going to try to come home to me?" she demanded, her voice going husky with emotion. Jason tipped up her chin forcing her to look into his tortured hazel eyes, "Of course I tried to come back to you, I swear I did, I begged the Oracle for help but she says it's impossible; that whatever or whoever brought me here won't allow it." He had to make her realize how important she was to him. Whatever he had thought he felt for Ariadne, it was a pale dying ember compared to the inferno that raged in his heart for Alek; he might fight to help the princess, (he genuinely believed she would make a just ruler one day), and had once already, but he would happily slaughter anyone who tried to harm Alek or he'd damn well die trying.

Alek knew it wasn't true that travel between the two 'realms', as she'd come to think of it, was impossible, otherwise how had she managed to get here; but this 'Oracle' was obviously someone Jason trusted and Alek knew that wasn't something that came easily to him. Coming to a decision, she turned to the hazel eyed young man and smiled, "I know you tried sweetheart, I do, it's like you said, I think I'm still in shock; this is like something out of science-fiction, it's so incredible." Alek stood on tip-toe to peck a kiss on his cheek, knowing that's all he'd allow her to do in public, "Tell you what, I'm seriously knackered, I haven't gotten used to this heat yet, (seriously does it ever get cool here or are we sitting on a hellmouth?); Why don't you and your friends go check out the job, and I'll go have a siesta somewhere shady or maybe take a dip in one of those public baths they have here since they are strictly gender separate." It seemed the legends concerning the promiscuity of ancient Greeks were more codswallop than the ones concerning their heroes; if anything, they were generally more prudish than regular Brit's were.

Jason frowned not liking the idea of Alek alone in the city and told her as much. "Jason Donnelly!" Alek scowled drawing all 5'1" of herself up, hands balled on her hips, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself as you well know since I knocked you on your arse less than an hour ago." Jason grinned in spite of his worry, and contemplated whether he would be fast enough to pat her on top of the head and get back out of range before she could drop kick him across the agora. Deciding he'd collected enough bruises for one day, he sobered up long enough to complain that he was "…only trying to be a gentleman and it was his job to look after her, especially in a strange place, and besides—" "All right—sheesh!" Alek relented ruefully, "if I promise to wait till midday and take Emineous and her baking sheet along for protection will you please stop worrying?" Jason nodded grinning, "Of course love, whatever you think is best" he replied innocently, then quickly patted the top of her head before springing backwards, narrowly avoiding a loaded melon cart as Alek swung at him, her expression promising mayhem. Laughing at her expression, he turned and sprinted down the street in the direction of home, leaving Alek shaking her head and scowling behind him.

Turning to make her way back to Emineous, Alek promised herself retribution at the first opportunity. Reaching her friends stall, she waited politely as the elderly woman finished helping a customer before moving to talk to her friend. "Emineous, how would you like to take a break at midday and accompany me to the womens' bathhouse?" Alek offered as soon as she had the womans attention. "I'd be honored to my dear," Emineous smiled, "but I'm afraid I'll have to return to the bakery kitchens for the evening's supply of goods if I'm to have anything to sell after the noon break." "Oh, all right then" Alek hid her disappointment, "maybe you could point me in the direction of an honest clothes merchant. I need a change of clothes at any rate if I'm to go to the baths at all." Emineous smiled at being able to help her young friend in this at least, "My grandson is a tailor, he does very fine work and he knows I'd box his ears if I ever learned he's been dishonest" she assured Alek, "You can find Pamphilos' shop on the silk road just to the south-east of the docks; you can't miss it, all the cloth merchants have doors painted either red or blue. Pamphilos' shop has a red door with black trim and a white strip along the top and bottom that resembles stiches'." Alek thanked Emineous, telling her she would stop by the stall and pick up the pastries she had forgotten earlier after visiting the tailor.

Forty minutes later, Alek had found the street of red and blue doors, and was busily looking for the door marking the shop of Emineous' grandson. Finding a red door with a stitching pattern, Alek stepped inside. The shop was bright and cheerful, with whitewashed walls; two of which held shelves from floor to ceiling each filled with cloth in every color imaginable. Large open air windows covered with an iron grill to prevent thieves from entering and heavy shutters to prevent rain from reaching the delicate cloth inside took up the same wall that held the shops entrance, while the last wall held only a single small door that presumably lead to a storage space. Currently the shutters were thrown open wide to allow the sunlight to pour into the shop. A young woman about Alek' age was overseeing the work of a group of seamstresses and smiled as she noticed Alek. "Welcome my lady, how may I help you today" she asked Alek. "I'm looking for the shop of Pamphilos, his grandmother Emineous sent me. She says his shop is one of the finest in the city" Alek replied warming to the young woman immediately.

The woman laughed, "Yes this is his shop, but I'm afraid my husband is not here at the moment. He is currently at the docks taking delivery of a new shipment of cloth from Cyprus; may I help my lady with anything" she asked. "Sure" Alek smiled, "but please call me Alek, I get enough of the ' _my lady_ ' stuff from Emineous already." "As you wish my l—Alek," the woman replied catching herself, "What are you interested in today?" "I'm not really sure where to start actually" Alek confessed, "definitely something less grand than this" she indicated her purple outfit. "I suppose it would be out of the question to assume women wear trousers here wouldn't it?" "While it isn't the norm for noble women to wear trousers, I can assure you it's not unheard of—especially in the colder months" the young woman reassured her, "perhaps if you were to tell me what you're used to wearing we can come up with something you'd like." A few hours later, Alek left the shop having been measured for what she could only consider her new wardrobe. She had commissioned three outfits, one for hot weather, consisting of loose ankle length trousers of light weight sturdy linen in a dark burgundy with a knee-length belted tunic of pale ice pink silk trimmed in dark pink and white roses along the bottom, and slit on all four sides from the bottom to hip. A wide leather belt dyed burgundy and worked all around with ice pink roses went with it. The other two outfits consisted of trousers and tunics' also, but were made of heavy weight wool for cooler weather. One having a trouser of deep umber brown with a tunic dyed cinnamon red with brown trim and the other with black trousers and a silvery grey double fold chiton trimmed in silver thread with a twisted cord belt of silver and black. She had also purchased an 'off the rack' as she considered it, outfit consisting of ankle length blood red trousers made of soft linen and an elaborate tunic of the same red, but instead of being slit up the sides and back like the others, the tunic's front had been cut so that it only reached the waist, with the side and back panels falling gracefully in a handkerchief pattern. Wide heavy black embroidery scrolled along the edges and open sleeves, and the bodice itself consisted of the same soft red linen overlaid with see through black gauze. A wide black leather belt with red accents and a heavy reddish bronze hair comb inset with polished black agate went with it. The whole outfit was far grander than she would have liked, but it was the only pre-made clothing available in her size.

She also discreetly inquired about undergarments and was provided with two sets of heavy weight linen under-belts which held thick wool monthly cloths in place or could be used alone as a type of loin cloth, and two floor length sleeveless V-neck white gowns of nearly sheer linen. A mottled grey-green linen cloak and cowl for summer and a heavy wool one for winter completed the wardrobe. Pamphilos had returned to the shop halfway through the measuring and had sold the cloths to Alek at a considerable discount, with the understanding that she make him her personal tailor and that she recommend him to anyone admiring the clothing. Alek left the shop with the red outfit, undergarments and nightgowns, only having spent three gold-twenty silver, with the promise that the remaining cloths would be ready within five days.

Skirting back through the market, Alek stopped by Emineous' stall to recount the tale of her shopping spree and pick up the basket of pastries she bought that morning. Not knowing how long Jason and his friends would be at their new job, she decided to take her purchases to her room and then she planned a surprise trip to see this Oracle to find out why she'd lied to Jason about returning to England and why her priest had been so hostile the other day.

Once in her room, Alek stripped off her clothes and hung them over the window to air while she washed off using the basin and water left by the maid every morning. Finishing her absolutions, she sat in front of the small mirror, propped against the pitcher of water she'd used for her bath, and taking up the wooden comb one of the maids had left for her, began to comb out her long hair before starting at her hairline and braiding it into a tight French braid, tying off the braid at the nape, and allowing the remaining length to hang free down her back. It wasn't as elegant or sophisticated as the braid Cassandra had created, but under the circumstances it was the best she could manage. Re-dressing in what she'd come to consider her 'princess' outfit, Alek headed out of the inn and made her way to the temple. Once there, she cautiously made her way toward the back, keeping an eye out for ' _priest angry face_ ' as she now thought of him, before quietly slipping down the steps Jason and she had tried to descend on the previous trip. Silently making her way down the steps, Alek found herself in a cavern like room with a circle of pillars surrounding a large crack in the floor that vapor was rising from. Alek immediately detected the sickly sweet odor of rotting bananas that ethylene gas produces and realized the crack in the floor was a natural gas vent releasing hydrocarbon gases mixed with underground water from a hot spring into the cavern. She blanched when she realized this Oracle was being exposed to potentially deadly levels of the narcotic gas in pursuit of divine visions that were nothing more than drug induced hallucinations. Luckily the gas was being heavily filtered by the spring water in the vapor or the flaming braziers in the cavern would have long since blown the temple sky high taking a huge chunk of the city with it. Alek was turning to go, ready to high-tail it out of the temple when a woman appeared from an opening at the back of the cavern. "Who are you—what are you doing here?" she asked Alek suspiciously. Alek turned to regard the woman; she was middle aged, blonde, with intricate tattoos inked on both hands, and a manner that immediately told Alek to be cautious.

Turning back to go down the steps, Alek stopped an arm's length from the blonde, assessing the woman critically, though she carefully kept her expression neutral, "Are you the Oracle?" she inquired politely, "My friend and I tried to see you yesterday but you weren't available." Immediately the woman stiffened, but quickly smoothed out her expression before regarding Alek with a smile that somehow didn't reach her eyes. "I am the Oracle," the blonde nodded, "and you are the young woman Cassandra dreamed of. The one who came searching for Jason." The Oracle moved towards Alek, causing the younger woman to automatically retreat a step or two up the stairs. A faint gleam of satisfaction flashed across the woman's eyes before disappearing, replaced by a small smile of concern, "You have nothing to fear here child." Alek fought down a snort of disbelief, ' _Yeah right_ ,' she thought silently, as the Oracle continued, "You seek a way back to your home, I will help you all I can." Alek eyed the woman distrustfully, "You told Jason there _was_ no way home and that the God's wouldn't allow it." "Jasons' home is here," the blonde stated flatly, "he was born here and it's here he will fulfill his destiny. But you my dear are a complication that none of us can afford at the moment; it is imperative that you leave Atlantis immediately or I fear all will be lost."

Alek frowned at the Oracle, a scowl growing on her face as she contemplated the blonde before her. "Oh really?" she snapped angrily, "and just who pray tell decided this destiny for Jason? I mean doesn't he get some say in it; after all it is his life." Alek needed answers if they were to ever have a hope of getting back home, and she knew the less wiggle room she left this woman the more likely the actual truth would come out. The Oracle regarded Alek coldly, "I am the voice for the God's" she sneered, "I interpret their wishes and make known their will. None may defy the will of the Gods, not I, not Jason, and certainly not you!" "Ok" returned Alek, crossing her arms over her chest, "try this one on for size, which god **_specifically_** , decided it was Jasons' job to save Atlantis?" The older woman frowned and resolutely pressed her lips together. Alek regarded her sternly, "What no answer? Ok how about this one, are both Jason's parents really dead?" The Oracles face flushed slightly, though whether it was from anger or the strain of keeping her secrets buried Alek couldn't tell. "Well?" the brunette beauty demanded, unwilling to let the woman get away without an answer. "Jason's father walks among the dead" the blonde finally gasped out when it became obvious Alek wasn't going to be distracted. Alek felt her heart clench in sorrow for her love, but quickly realized the seer had failed to answer the whole question, "What about his mother? What really happened to her?" At this the Oracle paled, before whirling away from Alek to pace the small confines of the sanctum. "I cannot tell you what actually happened to Jason's mother," she said sorrowfully, "only that at one time, she was my best friend and she was lost to us somehow by the use of dark magic's; more than that I cannot say."

Alek stared at the woman suspiciously, "Who used the magic against her? I know Jason's father had to flee with him because of the civil war here, but why was his family targeted in the first place?" The Oracle sighed in frustration, before dropping to her knees before her scrying bowl. "Come child," she said quietly, indicating a spot beside her. "I will tell you what I can, but you must reveal none of this to Jason; not yet at least. It would be too dangerous for him to know the whole truth before he is ready." Alek moved to sit in the space indicated, though she shook her head at the blonde beside her, "I won't promise to keep secrets from Jason," she scowled, "secrets have a way of festering and making things worse; believe me I know." The Oracle regarded her silently before nodding, "Then at least listen to what I say, and think about what all you could lose before you make a decision." Swirling the water in the bowl, the seer began her story. "A long time ago, there was a different king on the throne of Atlantis. He was young and in love with a princess of Colchis. Despite warnings from the temple priests that the union would only come an ill end, the king wed the princess anyway, and they eventually had a child. All was well in the kingdom for awhile, until the day that a witch set a curse upon the royal house. She was jealous of the new queen and her happiness, for once the queen and the witch had been friends. The witch had only married a simple merchant, while her friend had married a king, gaining all that the witch desired. So because the witch was jealous and spiteful, she cursed the king to have a wondering eye, and for strife to grow between the royal couple. Eventually the kingdom fell into neglect, and as it stood on the brink, the queen came to the temple to beg the Gods for clarity and hope. When she learned that it was her former friend that had caused all her misfortunes, she sent the palace guards to kill the woman, but she got away. In revenge the young guard captain killed the witch's husband and daughter, but for the enraged king it wasn't enough. He commanded that a huge fleet of ships be built in order to invade Colchis and slay every member of the witches' family that still lived. He drove the people into starvation and rebellion in his pursuit of revenge until finally the people rose up against him and all those still loyal to him. Many who served the royal household lived in the palace, and so countless innocents were murdered when the rebel forces overran the palace. In the ensuing chaos, Jason's father came to me seeking a way to save his child. When I asked where his wife was, he only said she had been lost to the war. I sent him into the desert to the shrine of the Goddess Nyx, knowing she was the only one strong enough to give them a chance at survival. I never knew what happened to them after that until Jason appeared in Atlantis a year ago; grown into a fine young man capable of averting disaster from befalling Atlantis a second time."

Alek sat in silence as she digested all that she had learned, before turning to the older woman with a thoughtful frown, "How is it that Jason is the only one that can make a difference? Surely the son of a simple servant can't have any effect on the current regime." The Oracle shook her head smiling, "Jason is not a simple peasant. He is descended from a long and noble house that unfortunately has gradually been wiped out. Jason is the last of his family, but rest assured, the blood in his veins can be traced back to many of the kings of old." Alek blanched, "But wouldn't that make him a target for the current ruler if he ever found out? I mean if this is a man willing to kill innocent women and children to get what he wants, what would keep him for ordering Jason to be killed as soon as he discovered he was alive?" The Oracle nodded vigorously, "Now you see why I am cautious. If Jason were to discover this now, before he is ready, it would surely lead to his death and the eventual fall of Atlantis. He must not know anything about this until the time is right and the Gods have given a sign of their blessings, otherwise he will never rest until he avenges his parents and that cannot happen. If it does he will either be killed by the same people his father fled from to survive, or his heart will blacken with bitterness and hate; either way he will be lost to us forever—you know I speak the truth, you have seen a taste of the damage the truth of his past can cause."

It was Alek turn to pale as she recalled Jasons' reaction the previous night when he discovered Mac had been less than honest with him. In all the time she had known him, Alek had never seen Jason that angry; it was almost as if a stranger had been looking at her from Jasons' eyes. "Fine," she muttered in defeat, "but don't expect me to be happy about it! Besides, wouldn't it solve everyone's problems for Jason and I to just go home where we belong?" "I'm afraid that's impossible now," the Oracle said regretfully, "at least as far as Jason is concerned. Lord Poseidon accepted the bargain made between Olympus and the boys family when he allowed first the father and then the son to return to the land of their birth. Jason has no choice but to see his destiny to its end." "Hang on a second," Alek accused the seer, "no one said a bloody thing about any deal being made with any God!" The Oracle shook her head, and grimaced at Alek, "Weren't you listening child? When Jason's father fled Atlantis, he did so by making a deal with the God's that he and his son would give up their homeland forever unless they were willing to do whatever was necessary to save the city and its people if they should ever return. As Jason's father now walks among the dead, it falls to Jason to see that destiny fulfilled." Alek growled in frustration, "That hardly seems fair, but whatever…I'll go along with keeping your secret for now, but like I said before, I'm not going to be happy about it."

The brunette beauty stared into the rising vapor for a moment before a thought came to her. Turning to the Oracle, she continued seriously, "I have one final question if you don't mind," Alek said quietly, "is there a temple or shrine anywhere in Atlantis dedicated to the Goddess Nyx? I don't fancy having to go searching in the desert if I happen to need backup if/when this whole mess goes tits up." For a moment the Oracle was confused by the rapid change of subject, "Why would you seek the Goddess of darkness and chaos?" the Oracle asked warily. "Let's call it a family reunion and leave it at that" Alek answered, not trying in the least to hide the implied menace in her voice. "What do you mean by family?" the blonde gasped. "Well if you must know, Jason isn't the only one with connections in high places. Nyx is actually related to me, or rather I'm related to her—you know her daughters the Erinyes? I'm Alekto." She was secretly pleased when on hearing this; the Oracle blanched and stared at her in open-mouthed horror. ' _I'm not_ _ **the**_ _Alekto, but no one needs to know that at this point right?_ ' Alek thought as she watched the blonde woman vacillate between awe, anger, and fear. "If anyone thinks they can hurt the man I love and not suffer the consequences, then trust me, Poseidon will be the _least_ of their worries" Alek assured the older woman before climbing to her feet and moving over to the stairs. "I'll tear this city and everyone in it down to the dust before I allow any harm to come to Jason," Alek warned the older woman, "and since it was Nyx that brought me here to find Jason in the first place, [because she wants all her children to be happy], you can bet your sweet arse she'll be right there beside me when the shite hits the fan."

Alek might've been worried if she could have seen herself in that moment. Her eyes were occasionally flashing in the darkened chamber with a cold ethereal light, all color sapped from the pupil and iris; as she spoke the shadows around her seemed to thicken and grow darker, the whole of her appearance taking on an aspect worthy of the Goddess she claimed as kin. The Oracle regarded Alek warily, "Why is Jason so important to you? If you are in fact who you say you are, then surely the Goddess would have seen you mated to one of her sons or grandsons as would befit a demi-goddess." Alek shuddered frowning, "If you must know, I'm not into incest. I love who I love and _**no one**_ can control that but me, not even the Great Mother. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm due to meet Jason and his friends." Nodding good-bye at the older woman, Alek climbed the stairs and made her way towards the exit, leaving the shadows in the sunken room to return to normal. Crossing to the exit without a backwards glance, she brushed past a startled Melas and headed back to the inn to wait for Jason, her eyes their normal pale grey-blue, while her heart desperately hoped she could find a way to keep Jason safe until they could return to England, if they ever could. Reaching the agora, Alek forced herself to slow down and get control of her temper. ' _What the bloody hell is wrong with me?_ ' she wondered. Before all the insanity came crashing into her life following the accident with Jasons' sub, Alek could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she'd really lost her shite like she had today, and she'd never gotten angry enough to actually threaten someone. That just wasn't in her makeup, she abhorred violence; granted she had found herself in a situation once or twice that resulted in it, but it had always been in a situation where the 'fight or flight' instinct had kicked her into self-preservation mode and never in a scenario where Alek was the aggressor.

Sighing she retraced her steps to the inn where she was staying, determined to get ahold of herself before meeting with Jason and his friends that evening. Realizing that she'd promised Jason that she wouldn't try to go to the baths alone, she decided to see if Ioustos had a bathing facility for guests. She found the innkeeper supervising the maids in preparing the evenings meal in the large kitchen at the back of the inn. He hastened to Aleks' side when he noticed her in the doorway, "Is owt the matter my lady" he asked, concerned to find her in the servants' part of his inn. "Ioustos," Alek shook her head, "What have I told you about the 'my lady' crap?" "My apologizes," he replied ruefully, "what may I do for you 'Miss' Alek" he frowned at the unfamiliar form of address. Alek grinned at him; "Better" she replied, "I was wondering if perhaps you might have a bathing room in the inn I might use" she looked at him hopefully. "I'm afraid not" Ioustos replied regretfully, "but I shall have the servants bring up a wooden bath and plenty of water as soon as they have the evening meal underway." "Oh no, please" Alek declared, shaking her head no as she backed out of the doorway, "that's way too much trouble for them to have to go to just so I can have a bath. I'll just wait until my friend Emineous can show me where the womens bathhouse is."

"Wait please Miss Alek" Ioustos called after her, "perhaps I can be of service after all." Alek paused, "What did you have in mind?" Ioustos turned to one of the women, "Have Iezabel come here please, I want her to take Miss Alek to the womens bath off the Sacred Way" he told her, sending the woman scuttling from the room. Turning back to Alek he explained that there were several bathhouses in the city, but the one he was sending her to had an excellent reputation for being both safe and clean as it was frequented by both the nobility and the various priestesses from the dozens of temples located throughout the city. A young girl of about 15-16 years old Alek guessed came up to them just as Ioustos finished his explanation. "You wanted to see me father?" the girl smiled at Ioustos as she came to his side. "Ah yes" Ioustos replied, putting his arm around the girls' shoulders, and turning to introduce Alek. "This is my daughter Iezabel" he told Alek, "Ieza, this is a very special guest, Miss Alek" he told the girl. "I want you to take her to the baths off the Sacred Way" he explained "stay with her as she is new to the city and then escort her back here when she is ready." The girl smiled shyly at Alek, "Follow me." "Wait a moment, I need to get something from my trunk," Alek replied before hurrying up the stairs to her room. Unlocking the door quickly, Alek snatched up one of the linen loincloths and the red outfit she'd purchased earlier before heading back downstairs to trail after the teen into the busy streets of the city. They headed back toward the temple before turning off the Sacred Way into the maze of streets that lay in the north-eastern quadrant of the city; soon they came to a large courtyard surrounded on three sides by a multi-level limestone complex that resembled the main temple. Iezabel lead Alek into the southern wing of the complex; inside was a second smaller courtyard filled with potted plants, flowers, and small blossoming trees; with dozens of doors leading off it. A tall bald man wearing a cream colored chiton came forward, "Welcome" he intoned in a high lisping voice that took Alek by surprise, "please follow me." "I thought this was for women only," Alek muttered to the teen beside her. "It is," the girl giggled, "he's a eunuch." "That still doesn't mean I want him seeing my private bits!" Alek hissed, worrying that she was about to find herself in an embarrassing situation.

"My lady wishes to utilize one of the small private baths please" Ieza called to the man. Inclining his head in acknowledgement, the man led the pair to one of the doors and bowed them inside before shutting the door, leaving the two alone in the room. Inside the walls and floor were made up of limestone, openings were cut high along two walls allowing in abundant light and air. A square sunken pool took up nearly a third of the floor space and was easily large enough to hold several people. Steam wafted over the surface and rose in lazy plumes to disappear into the vaulted ceiling. Benches stood along one wall interspersed with tables holding scented candles and incense, shelves filled with bottles and jars filled another, along with piles of soft white cloth Alek assumed were towels. Stone fish were carved into the back wall above the pool at regular intervals, each spouting a stream of water into the pool. A decorative screen stood at one side of the pool, each of its panels painted with a scene depicting nubile young women in various stages of undress lounging alongside equally handsome virile heroes.

"Do you require help disrobing my lady?" Ieza inquired. Alek sighed internally, she'd be glad to get her new clothes delivered; maybe then people would stop treating her like a pampered princess. "Just with the laces please Ieza, and please call me Alek" she admonished the girl, "I'm no more a lady than you or anyone else." "Father told me you were different from the other nobles" the girl said shyly as her deft fingers worked to loosen the intricate web of laces that closed the dress, "I meant no disrespect, I think it's wonderful your father allows you to travel alone, but weren't you afraid?" Alek snorted, "No" she replied bluntly, "besides my father didn't stick around long enough to have the right to say anything about what I do." The younger girl looked at Alek aghast, "But a woman must always obey the wishes of her father," she cautioned Alek, "at least until she weds, then her husband becomes her master." Alek shook her head regretfully, it would do no good to disabuse the girl of her beliefs since equal rights for all people wouldn't become a reality for centuries. Stepping behind the screen, Alek slipped off the purple dress and mantle, draping them over the screen. Carefully she removed the silver hair comb and placed it and her matching girdle holding her coin pouch on a nearby table along with her change of clothes, before wrapping one of the thick linen towels around her torso. Stepping out from behind the screen, she found Ieza patiently waiting on one of the benches, "You don't have to wait for me" Alek assured the girl when she popped up like a spring on seeing Alek, "surely there's something you'd rather be doing than hanging around here waiting for me to finish my bath."

"Father would be angry with me if I left you to find your way back alone" Ieza confided. Alek sighed trying not to get frustrated, "Maybe you could see if there's a way to launder my clothes before we have to go back to the inn," she suggested, casting about for a way to get the girl out of the room. She wasn't keen to be naked in front of a minor even if it wasn't illegal yet. "I can see to your clothes being cleaned for you once we get back to my fathers' inn" Ieza assured her, "but I will await you in the garden just outside until you are ready to leave." Stepping out of the room, the girl left Alek to her bath. She began by investigating the bottles and jars, discovering they held different scented oils and lotions. Eventually she found a squat jar containing what appeared to be course sand, taking a small amount in her hand, she added a bit of water from the pool and was delighted her assumption proved correct when the sand formed a thick lather as she briskly rubbed her hands together. Taking the jar of soap, a bottle of bath oil that smelled like her jasmine scented shampoo back home, and a large natural sponge she found in a basket, Alek assembled her bathing supplies beside the edge of the pool before removing her towel and slipping into the deliciously heated water. The pool was deep, the water rising to the top of her breasts, a shelf of varying heights ran along the bottom of the pool which she had initially mistook for a stepping stone. Finding a seat at the right level, Alek relaxed as she allowed the hot water to ease the tension from her body.

She jerked awake sometime later, having been startled by the slamming of a door somewhere nearby. Glancing at the sunbeams streaming in the high openings onto the floor, she judged she hadn't been asleep long at all. Sighing Alek scooped a handful of sand soap from the jar, adding a drizzle of jasmine oil and began to vigorously lather her hair. It took three more handfuls to get the heavy mass of her hair completely clean. Taking up the sponge and soap, she attacked the grime a sponge bath can never clean away, emerging from the pool thirty minutes later feeling better than she had in months. Wrapping clean towels around her hair and body, she sat on one of the benches toweling dry and rubbed jasmine oil into every place on her body she could reach. The oil was light and fragrant, smoothing and soothing skin she'd scrubbed slightly sore with the sand. Finishing with the oil, she dried her hair, and slipped into her clean clothes fastening her coin pouch to the wide red and black leather belt of her new outfit, before making a bundle of the purple outfit with the silver hair comb and belt in the middle. Slipping on her sandals, she poked her head out the door and was relieved to see Ieza sitting on a bench underneath a trellis covered with a vining pink rose.

Alek went over and joined her on the bench, breathing in the sweet scent of the roses. Ieza offered to do Aleks' hair and when she agreed, went to get a comb from the eunuch that had shown them to the bath. A few minutes later, she returned with a comb and three lengths of red silk ribbon. Carefully combing out all the tangles, the teen began braiding Aleks' hair, weaving the ribbon through the dark locks, before tying off the end in a bow and drawing the long strand over Aleks' left shoulder to hang down the front. Stepping back to admire her handiwork the girls eyes sparkled with pleasure, "Your gorgeous Miss Alek" she breathed, clapping her hands in delight, "more beautiful even than Princess Ariadne and father says she's the most beautiful woman in Atlantis now that mother is gone." "Thank you" Alek blushed, "but I'm sorry to hear about your mother" she said sincerely. "That's all right" Ieza assured her, "it happened a long time ago when my baby brother was born, it happens a lot when babies are as big as Kapaneus was" the girl shrugged as if her mother's death were an unavoidable part of life. Alek doubted she would ever become as immune to death as the people here seemed to be. Picking up her bundle, Alek followed the teen back out to the outer courtyard where Alek dropped a coin in the offering box to pay for the bath supplies she'd used before making their way through the crowded streets back to the inn.


	9. Chapter 9--Dog Days of Summer

**AN:** Two chapters in two days-whoo-hoo! I'm on a roll. Thanks again to everybody whose stuck with me through this story line. I truly appreciate it, and I'd like to thank angel-of-eden for her constant support, and encouragement. I've dropped a hint or two to a certain movie in this chapter. If you can figure out which one, leave a comment and I'll let everyone know who guessed it right in the footnotes of the next chapter. As always, I own nothing but my Oc's and storyline; everything else belongs to the BBC.

* * *

 **Dog Days of Summer**

When Alek reached her room, she handed the bundle of dirty clothing to Ieza for cleaning after removing the comb and girdle, thanking her for the trip to the baths. After the teen left to see to her task, Alek searched her room for a secure place to keep the small fortune in silver and amethysts, reasoning that while she had no reason to mistrust Ioustos or his staff, she wasn't the only guest staying at the inn. ' _no reason to leave needless temptation lying about_ ' she mused, examining the trunk at the end of the bed and finding a large iron key sticking out of the lock. Wrapping the comb and girdle up in her extra undergarments and nightgown, she carefully locked the trunk and slipped the key into her coin pouch. Picking up the basket of pastries from the table where she'd left them, Alek headed out to wait for Jason in the agora, locking her door behind her, knowing he'd have to cut through the market to reach the inn. She'd no sooner perched on her favorite spot on the fountain by Emineous' stall than she spotted Jason dashing towards the agora, his two friends hot on his heels. ' _The older man must be Hercules_ ' she mused, though how this aging pudgy man would inspire such legends was beyond her; maybe Hercules was a common name? The three had paused at a corner to talk and though they were too far away to hear over the hubbub of the busy market, Jasons' clear laughter rang out as he shrugged and walked away scratching behind his ear like an overgrown puppy, leaving the other two to watch after him with bemused expressions on their faces.

He hadn't taken a dozen paces when he flung his head up and seemed to scent the air, like he had that morning, turning eerily to stare at Alek across the agora as a smile lit his face. Changing direction, Jason angled his path toward the fountain and Alek, sweeping her up into his arms and swinging her around like it had been days instead of hours since they'd last seen each other. Setting her back on her feet, Jason captured her lips in a searing kiss that left her breathless and weak in the knees. "Wow" she murmured once he broken the kiss, "what happened to no PDA?" "I missed you" was his only reply, leaning his forehead against hers, and still holding her wrapped in his arms. Alek grinned at him like he'd just offered her the world on a silver platter, which she supposed he had in a way, "I missed you too" she whispered.

"You look amazing by the way" Jason said grinning and pulling away enough to peruse her figure up and down waggling his eyebrows. In spite of herself Alek couldn't stop the peal of laughter that bubbled from her throat, "Why do I get the feeling you're not talking about the clothes" she giggled. "Maybe because I'm not" he agreed, his hazel eyes smoldering with desire just barely lurking beneath the surface.

" _Ahem_ " Alek looked over Jasons' shoulder, and found his two friends grinning as they watched the pair. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely companion?" the burly man asked Jason. Keeping one arm wrapped possessively around her waist, Jason turned to the older man, "Alek, I'd like you to meet my other best friend, Hercules—Hercules this is Alek, the woman I intend to marry." Alek blushed as she moved forward to shake the big man's hand and say hello to he and Pythagoras. "Happy to meet such a lovely young woman" Hercules said bowing his head to Alek and kissing her fingertips, making Alek chuckle and Jason scowl. "Happy to make your acquaintance as well sir, and a good afternoon to you both" Alek replied dropping into her best ' _meeting the Queen mum_ ' curtsey, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Ah a woman with spirit," Hercules chuckled, "You realize of course she is totally wasted on _you_ " he clapped Jason on the shoulder. "Yeah" Jason grinned, "but think of the fun I'll have trying to keep up" he winked at Alek. Aleks' tinkling laugh rang out again, "All right, all right break it up!" She shook her head, "honestly, you're as bad as Jamie and Joey. Now tell me, how did the job go?"

"Not as well as I'd hoped it might," Pythagoras sighed, and looked pointedly at Jason. "I just got a bit carried away" the brunette muttered sheepishly, before quickly changing the subject "So what did you do today?" he asked Alek. "Oh I had a marvelous day" she gushed, "I saw the docks", [from a distance], she assured Jason when she saw his scowl, "I visited Emineous' grandsons' shop and got measured for new clothes, visited the temple, went to the baths—" "You went to the temple?" Jason looked at Alek sharply, "alone? What happened?" "Easy love, no need to go postal" Alek teased him, "I'm a big girl, remember? I can tie my own sandals and everything." They both failed to notice the perplexed grins Pythagoras and Hercules wore, they'd been Jasons' near constant companions for over a year, and they'd never seen him as relaxed and happy as he was now.

Pythagoras smiled shyly at Alek, he'd long since realized Jason wasn't inclined to the love that occurred between two men and over the course of the last year, Pythagoras had gradually shifted his romantic fantasies about the brunette from intimate love to the love one had for a favorite brother and best friend. Hercules and Jason were his family, and he'd do anything to make them happy. He'd watched Jason moon over Ariadne for months, but it was the infatuation someone might hold for a Goddess, or a belief; burning yes, but also distant and untouchable. With Alekto, Jason was intense, but also grounded, in the here and now; his love was obtainable, touchable and most importantly reciprocated. Pythagoras had an immense feeling of joy swell in his heart that his friend had been reunited with his soul mate. "Well" he beamed around the group, "shall we all go back to the house? I can fix dinner and we can exchange stories of our adventures today." "You cook?" Alek asked delighted, "I'd love to help." "Hhmm, are you better than Jason?" Pythagoras asked cautiously. "Does a right Isosceles triangle have a 90° right angle and two equal angles and sides?" Alek inquired, arching a brow at the mathematician.

Jason rolled his eyes and Hercules groaned, "Not another one" the burly wrestler moaned, "By the Gods I don't think I can handle another triangle enthusiast." Pythagoras sniffed disdainfully at his housemates, "It will be a refreshing change of pace to be able to conduct a conversation that doesn't involve wine, women, or weapons." Alek laughed, "I promise the dinner conversation will include more than triangles" she assured Hercules, before turning to Pythagoras to discuss the evening meal. Finally they decided that dinner would consist of the ready foods Alek had provided the night before and the pastries she had in the basket she'd bought that morning, since it was to be a curfew night again tonight. "What's up with this curfew thing" Alek asked the three men as the four of them made their way towards Hercules' house, "I've never heard of a curfew being imposed on adults, unless martial law had to be enacted." "What is martial law?" asked Pythagoras. "It's where the government imposes and enforces military rule" Jason replied absently, his mind focused on the enticing sway of Aleks' hips as the split in the skirt of her tunic fluttered around her legs as she walked. "Sounds like Atlantis all right" Hercules rumbled from his place behind the other three. "Yes, but why is that?" Alek questioned, "Martial law is usually only ever employed in times of war or civil unrest, but there aren't signs of either of those here." "The King requires no reason," Pythagoras said seriously, "He is Poseidons son—God on earth and his will is absolute."

Alek stopped dead in the street and stared at the three disbelievingly, even Jason seemed content with the blonde genius' reasoning, "Oh come on—you don't mean to tell me you actually believe that load of bollocks?" "Of course we do…don't you?" Pythagoras looked scandalized. "No" Alek said tersely, "I also don't believe a man can walk on water or turn water into wine either, but that doesn't stop a couple billion other people from hopping aboard that gravy train." "But how else would you explain how the seasons shift, and the crops flourish if not by the rituals that appease the God's?" Pythagoras asked distressed. "The earth's rotation, shifting weather patterns, and soil conservation" Alek ticked off on her fingers, leaving both Pythagoras and Hercules staring at her open-mouthed. "Alek" Jason said in a warning tone, "Remember where you are—when in Rome…" Alek startled looking at Jason wide-eyed for a moment, "Sorry" she flushed, "forgot for a second I wasn't in the student lounge at Uni." "You seem highly educated, especially for a woman" Pythagoras told her as he climbed the stairs leading up to the house behind Hercules, "I find it fascinating that you understand the higher mathematics, yet have only a rudimentary knowledge of the Pantheon of deities. Does your education extend to anything else, like perhaps languages for example?" "Yes actually, I studied several different languages though unfortunately ancient Greek isn't among them" Alek gritted, internally fuming over the crack about being educated _for a woman._ "And I never said I didn't know the myths surrounding the Greek Pantheon, just that I didn't believe in them." She continued, pointedly ignoring Jasons' warning look, she set the basket of pastries on the table, and turned to find Pythagoras giving her a slightly patronizing look, "Well of course you can't read the ancient texts, few can though I myself learned to years ago when I studied under Daedalus…"

Pythagoras was starting to remind Alek of a particularly condescending professor she and Jason had both endured for classics, "however your common Greek is quite proficient, though with time it should improve once you begin to lose that strange accent." Alek tuned Pythagoras out as she turned slightly panicked eyes to Jason, "What's he going on about" she hissed quietly to Jason, "my Greek sucks, and you never picked up anything more than how to ask for a number 5 with Coke!" "Shht! Just don't panic ok" Jason muttered as he drew her towards the balcony unobtrusively. "Pythagoras doesn't mean anything by it; he's just used to being the cleverest one around" Jason whispered, trying to sooth Aleks' ruffled feathers. "Don't you dare!" Alek hissed, eyes flashing, "Don't you dare stand there and expect me to dumb myself down just to stroke some guys ego who still thinks the bloody world is flat and ends at Turkey! In case you've forgotten, I hold a Level 7 Honors degree now, one level higher than you do!" A joyous smile broke out over Jasons' face and before Alek knew what was happening, he'd swept her up into a fierce hug, swinging her in a circle "You made it!" he crowed excitedly, "I knew you would—your brilliant!"

Setting her down long enough to kiss her breathless, Jason acted as if she'd won a Nobel Prize or saved the world. Drawing back, he held her face between his hands, staring at her with sheer admiration on his face, "I'm in love with the smartest woman in the world" he breathed touching foreheads with her as he always did when he wanted to show how much he cared. Why on earth he ever tried to convince himself that this woman would simply give him up for lost and move on with her life was beyond him. She'd never given up on anything in her life, not her dreams, herself, or anyone she cared about; since the day they'd met, Alek had always been in his corner. She'd fought against peer pressure, social convention, colleagues, friends, and Jason himself at times, but she always supported him—believed in him, especially when no one else did, not even him. "Are you two listening to a word I've said?" Pythagoras asked, poking his head around the doorframe. "I believe their interested in each other more than your questions and theories Pythagoras" Hercules admonished the ginger as he poured a cup of wine from the amphorae sitting on the table, "As most sane people are."

"I was only saying that I'd be happy to help Alek work on her pronunciation to improve her speech," Pythagoras chided his large friend, "I'd forgotten how strange Jason sounded when he first arrived, and that perhaps she could occasionally assist me with my work on my triangles…" "Sic him" Jason whispered to Alek as she stood there open-mouthed, "just save his eyeballs, Hercules is rather fond of them" he grinned wickedly. Alek strolled over to the table and began unpacking the pastries onto a wooden platter, as Jason sat down by Hercules and poured himself a cup of wine, silently indicating to his burly friend to watch the show they were about to see. Passing Hercules and Jason a pastry each, she silently went over the last week's conversations in her head, ' _Had she been speaking a language that had been essentially dead for nearly two millennia without realizing it?_ ' concentrating hard, she focused on memories of her mothers and grandmothers voices' before turning to Jason tentatively, "[Can you understand what I'm saying?]" she asked him in perfect English. At first he looked as confused as his two friends, then realization dawned, "Yes! I mean [Yes!]" he said excited, [It's been so long and it feels a bit weird—I have to think about it, but yeah I can understand you. Think we can still manage French?] Alek thought a moment, "[Mon nom est Alek, et je suis engagé à Jàson]. Jason whooped excitedly, startling the other two men; "[Oui tu es, belle]" he replied waggling his brows suggestively. Alek shook her head exasperated, "[¡Oh no! Abajo muchacho, sin recordar PDA?]" she informed him, rapidly switching to Spanish. Jason changed tactics, firing back in halting German "[Ich erinnere mich an meine Liebe, aber bald genug werde ich Ihnen in meinem Bett haben.]"

"Yes, but not today you rogue" Alek laughed. "Would either of you care to explain what's going on" Hercules scowled. Jason grinned at his burly friend, "Just reviewing some of the different languages Alek and I learned back where we're from" he told them off-handedly. Pythagoras looked impressed, "You never told me you were multi-lingual" he accused Jason. "There didn't seem to be any need" the brunette replied unconcerned, "no one here speaks any of them anyway, at least not that I've heard." "How many different languages are spoken where you're from?" Hercules demanded incredulously, "and how in the name of the Gods does anyone understand all that babel?" Alek snorted, "Well for starters people don't normally converse in several different dialects simultaneously" she told him, "and for another, there are so many different people traveling, working, and moving all over the world that most of the children are required to know at least two if not more languages by the time they finish their education."

"How many different languages do you speak?" Pythagoras asked fascinated. Alek thought a moment, "Including Greek? Let's see—five that I can read, write, and speak; and three I can speak and somewhat read but can't write at all." Hercules looked at Jason impressed, while Pythagoras seemed flatly astounded, "Are all the women where you're from as well educated as you are?" he sputtered. "Yes actually, in one way or another—women can hold any job that men can as long as they have the same training" Alek assured the ginger genius. "Yeah" said Jason, "Alek holds a higher degree of education than I do, and would actually earn more money even though we were trained for the same basic job; just in different aspects of the field." "That's ridiculous," Hercules retorted, "there are some things a woman just isn't suited for." "Like what?" Alek countered, "Name one job a man can do that a woman can't" she crossed her arms over her chest. "The military—for one, a woman has no place in war" the big man smirked, confidently. "Where Jason and I are from there are nearly as many females in the military as there are males. Women can fight just as fiercely as a man if not more so, especially should she be defending those she loves. Think about it" she reasoned, "which is more dangerous in a normal situation, a male lion, or a lioness defending her cubs?" "What about in the arena?" Hercules queried, sure he'd landed on a situation Alek couldn't reason her way out of, "There's no chance a woman your size could pin someone like me in a normal situation."

Alek shook her head at the burly wrestler amused, "It's true we don't have a ' _traditional_ ' arena like the ones here, but we do have sporting events that include wresting, boxing, MMA, and things like Rugby and football. One of the best known champions of MMA is a woman. She currently holds the bantam weight championship title for North America." "What's a 'MMA' and a 'North America'?" Pythagoras asked eagerly. "North America is a continente very very far away. It's on the other side of the world from here and across a very large ocean from where Jason and I are from." Alek explained. "As for MMA, its a sport that mixes boxing, wrestling, and martial arts, (which is the main fighting style of most of the Asian peoples). Bantam weight is a particular weight class for wrestling where we're from." Jason added, still watching Hercules in case he went temporarily insane enough to actually try anything with Alek. "It places opponents together who are roughly the same weight in the same class" the brunette continued, "There is Bantam weight, light-weight, and heavy-weight classes. Most female wrestlers are in the Bantam or light-weight divisions." "Hah!" exclaimed Hercules smugly, "proves my point, a woman could never compete against someone my size." "Any opponent can be brought down if you exploit his weaknesses and use your strengths" Alex argued hotly, "if need be I'm pretty sure I could put you on the ground."

Hercules snorted into his cup, "I'd like to see that" he muttered to himself. "Actually so would I" Jason grinned at his burly friend. "Now, now I think we all just need to agree to disagree and have a nice meal" Pythagoras stuttered as he worriedly looked from one to the other. "I understand you're a gambling man?" Alek inquired innocently. "On occasion" Hercules frowned, "but I fall to see how that's relative to the discussion." "There's a wine vendor in the agora, I understand he sells the best wine in the city" Alek said watching the burly wrestler from underneath her lashes. "I know the man" replied Hercules, "he is the royal supplier to the palace, deals only in Lemnian wine—the best there is, what of him?" Alek smirked, "If you can pin me to the floor, I will buy you a flagon of Lemnian wine. But—if I pin you, then for the next seven days you have to do whatever Jason tells you to do." "That hardly seems fair, seven days for one flagon of wine" the big man snorted, rolling his eyes in disbelief, "besides how do I know you've even got the money to buy the wine." "Because Alek has never or would ever cheat anyone" Jason snapped, angered at the perceived insult.

"Peace my love" Alek said laying her hand on Jasons' arm, "Your friend doesn't know me yet. I'm sure he meant no insult." "Of course not" Pythagoras exclaimed, not liking the turn of events, "Hercules would never insult a lady. Now if we can all just forget this foolishness, and have a nice supper…" Alek ignored him, pulling a gold Atlantian drachma from her coin pouch and laying it on the table, "I can afford it" she stared at Hercules, "that is unless you're afraid you'll lose." "This is ridiculous" Hercules retorted, "I'm not afraid of anyone, especially not a slip of a girl. However, I'm also not stupid enough to do something that will hurt the woman Jasons' in love with in front of him. I like my head where it is thank you very much!" Jason laughed aloud, "It's true I'd kill anyone that harmed Alek" he nodded, "but I also know she can damn well hold her own when she has to" he told the other two confidently. "Look what happened this morning when I forgot she doesn't like being snuck up on" he stood and pulled up his tunic, displaying the black and purple bruising along the right side of his ribs. All three gasped, Alek and Pythagoras automatically moving to Jasons' side to assess the injury. "Oh my god Jason" Alek breathed, as she gently touched his side "I'm so sorry! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? You said you were fine!" she reproached him, near tears. "I am" Jason reassured her, "it doesn't even hurt now, and the bruising will be gone by tomorrow."

Alek looked at him startled, "How on earth is this going to heal overnight? That's impossible, unless you've suddenly turned into Wolverine and that's not gonna happen—even here." "Jason actually heals faster than any man I've ever seen" Pythagoras comforted her, "he dislocated his right shoulder, and cracked three ribs in the bull court, yet somehow managed to pull off the leap that won us our freedom" he told Alek proudly. "The shoulder was better by the next evening and the ribs were healed within a week." Alek turned pale as milk and abruptly sat down. Instantly Jason was on his knees beside her, "Alek? Alek—sweetheart? What's wrong! I'm right here love, talk to me Alek." Jason started to panic, Alek was pale and her eyes had grown huge and distant, a faint sheen of perspiration stood on her brow and she was gripping Jasons' arm tightly. "You were made to jump a huge black bull—not the first of its ilk you've defeated," Alek murmured dreamily, still staring into the distance at something only she could see, "but there was a woman there, more dangerous than the bull…she means you harm, yet you still hesitate to fulfill your oath—the one you swore to her sister, the witch whose mark you wear." Alek unconsciously rubbed her thumb over the leather brace on Jasons' left wrist, "You've risked your life many times, and will do so many more—yet the most dangerous foe you've yet to face, and when you do, you'll have to sacrifice that which you hold dear or lose all." Aleks' eyes drifted shut and she swayed toward Jason who quickly caught her and gathered her to his chest.

Agonized hazel eyes looked into the worried faces of his friends, as Jason tried to make sense of what had just happened. "Pythagoras" he croaked, mouth as dry as sand, "help me—what's wrong with her?" "She has the gift, this is bad—very, very bad" Pythagoras told him as he quickly fetched a damp cloth, and Hercules poured wine in a cup and sat it near Jasons' elbow on the table. Jasons' stomach clenched, "What _gift_? What's bad about a gift?" Hercules blew out a frustrated breath, "Visions Jason! The girl is cursed with foresight! When are you planning on learning about the culture here?" he berated the brunette. Jason ignored him, turning once again to Pythagoras who by this time was feeling Aleks' pulse with one hand and sponging her face with the damp cloth with the other. "You need to move her to the bed, she'll likely sleep till morning" the blonde told him standing aside so Jason could scoop the still unconscious woman up. "Better put her in my bed then..." Hercules offered. "What?" he asked, when both boys looked at him startled, "Oh come on? It's not as if every invalid that comes into this house doesn't end up in there anyway; besides it's unlikely the two of you are going to fit on that!" he indicated Jasons' narrow bed, "and we all need to get some sleep tonight if we're going to have any hope of figuring this mess out." Jason carried Alek into Hercules' room and laid her down on the bed, pulling off her sandals and covering her with a blanket before reluctantly following Pythagoras back to the kitchen table so they could talk without chancing disturbing Alek.

"So visions huh?" Jason asked his ginger haired friend nervously, once he'd sat back down and drained the cup of wine Hercules handed him, "like the Oracle?" "Exactly like the Oracle I'm afraid" Pythagoras said looking at his friend pityingly. Jason frowned, "How is that bad?" "You mean apart from having your brain and insides scrambled like an egg every time the God's decide they need to send a message?" Hercules spat sarcastically, indicating the still senseless female they could see through the open bedroom door. "Hercules" Pythagoras admonished before turning to Jason, "It is the law that anyone possessed of the gift of foresight must serve in a temple, usually of their patron deity" he explained to Jason. "I still don't get how that's bad" Jason replied confused. Hercules let out an explosive curse, "They will _force_ her to join a temple Jason! She will be initiated into the priesthood! Seers _aren't allowed_ to stay with their families—which means you'll likely **_never be allowed to see her again—much less marry her!_** " "They can't do that!" Jason shouted jumping to his feet as real fear gripped him, "They can't force her to join something she doesn't want to—she doesn't even believe in this stuff!" he began pacing like a caged lion. "I'm afraid they _can_ and they _will_ " Pythagoras informed him regretfully, "once people find out she has the gift, she'll have no choice but to join—for her own safety."

"What do you mean?" Jason scowled. "Think about it," Hercules said brusquely, "if you're rich and powerful enough and want to start a war or see if you're being plotted against by your enemy's, a seer would be a powerful weapon." He jabbed his finger toward the palace visible out the balcony windows, "and you'd be willing to do most anything to get and keep that weapon, including murder." "Then what keeps them from doing that now with the Oracle?" Jason snapped. "Nothing" replied Pythagoras, "The King and his army _protect_ the temple and the seer's, and in return the priesthood declares the King's divine right to rule and tries to warn him of any plots against his reign. Yes, the Oracle is chosen by the God's and no one would dare harm her, but that still doesn't keep her from being a virtual prisoner, especially to King Minos." "Yeah," replied Hercules chuckling mirthlessly, "Funny how most betrayers tend to not trust anyone isn't it." "Hercules, shush!" Pythagoras warned, "It would mean death if anyone overheard you speaking ill of the king like that!" Hercules just shook his head and poured more wine into his cup. "Then no one must know about Alek," Jason told them, "We don't breathe a word of this to anyone." "You can't keep something like this a secret for long" Pythagoras tried to reason with him, "sooner or later somebody will find out." "Besides" continued Hercules, "what are you going to do if she has a vision in the middle of the agora or at the inn where's she's staying? Who's to say she hasn't already? What do you plan on doing, keeping her locked in a room the rest of her life?" "Your right" Jason replied, looking at his friends sadly, "I can't protect her here. I've got no choice, I have to get her out of the city, and…try to find a way back…I'm sorry."

"Back where?" Hercules demanded, suspecting he wasn't going to like the answer. "Back to where we came from" Jason said dispiritedly, "the place we lived before I came to Atlantis." Pythagoras swallowed hard, "I thought you couldn't go back there" he stuttered, "The Oracle said it wasn't possible—the God's wouldn't allow it." "I'VE GOT TO TRY!" Jason exploded, surging to his feet, both fists clenched, enraged. "I-I can't lose her again, don't you see?" he pleaded, "I was dealing with it when I thought there was no hope of ever seeing her again, but now…it's like a miracle got dropped in my lap, and I'll do whatever I have to, to not lose her again—even…even if it means leaving Atlantis forever." He dropped down on a bench, and buried his face in his hands to hide the silent tears welling in his eyes. Hercules looked at Pythagoras' distraught face; these two boys had given him more grey hairs than he'd ever thought possible, but they'd brought more joy and laughter to his life than he'd believed in as well. They were more than his best friends, they were family—the sons he should have had before he'd lost his faith in the world. ' _I'll be dammed to the blackest pit of Tartarus before I lose either one of them_ ' he decided.

"Right!" Hercules exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table making the cups jump and startling both young men nearly out of their skins, "no one is going anywhere—not her and especially not you" he pointed his finger at Jason. "We'll figure something out, why else do we keep that big brain of yours around" he reasoned, swinging around to Pythagoras. " _Excuse_ me!" Pythagoras looked offended, "my brain is not too big! It's perfectly normal size I'd imagine—though I've never actually seen it, it stands to reas—" "Pythagoras" Hercules growled, "stop waffling and get to the damned point!" "I'm not sure I had a point" the ginger said primly, "irregardless, we will come up with a plan somehow. The first priority is keeping anyone finding out about this; Alek included if possible." "How can we keep her from knowing about this?" Jason asked, daring to hope there was a way the two of them could stay in Atlantis, "she's the one _having_ the blasted visions." "Quite often seers may not recall their visions at all at first. That's another reason why the temple is so important; it trains the person for years in how to develop and interpret what their 'seeing' Pythagoras responded, "Otherwise, the person will simply think their experiencing odd vivid dreams." "Kind of like nightmares?" Jason asked, recalling his earlier talk with Alek. "Exactly" Pythagoras nodded. ' _Did she have a vision of me drowning, like if the city actually sank—or was it really just a nightmare?_ ' Jason wondered with a shiver. If Atlantis was facing some future threat that he was meant to avert and failed, he wouldn't be the only one to die; everyone in the city would perish along with the people he held most dear. ' _Maybe that's what Alek' vision meant_ ' he pondered, ' _maybe I have to face and defeat whoever or whatever this foe is, or the city will be destroyed and everyone I love will die_ '.

Jason attempted to shake off the weight that settled on his shoulders, and focus on the problem at hand. "So how do we keep people from finding out?" he asked Pythagoras. "I have no idea as yet" the mathematician replied honestly, "the only thing I can come up with at the moment is to try to buy as much time as possible until we can come up with a plan." "Of course that would be a lot easier if we could keep a close eye on her" the ginger reasoned, "but with her living half-way across the city, that's going to be virtually impossible" he finished glumly. "So she and I will have to leave the city" Jason sighed dispiritedly, "maybe we can camp out in the woods until we can come up with a plan" he said hopefully. Pythagoras shook his head ruefully; "That won't work either," he replied, "how are you going to explain to Alek that she has to live in the forest without telling her why" he said logically, "besides it's too dangerous in the forest, and even with the three of us, I'm not sure we could protect her all the time." "Why not?" asked Jason, secretly pleased that both his friends were willing to endure the hardships of living rough in the forest with him unasked. Pythagoras blushed a furious red, "Well" he stammered, "a-a woman needs…alone time…every so often, and—well…" he trailed off, unable to finish.

Jason simply stared at him confused, until Hercules made an odd choking noise and he turned to see the burly wrestler fairly shaking with suppressed laughter. Realization dawned, "Oh! Yeah right" Jason said flushing faintly himself, "forgot about that." Hercules snorted, "It has been awhile then" the big man grinned at Jason lewdly. "Piss off" Jason retorted causing Hercules to snort again. "Got any other ideas?" Jason challenged. "Yes as a matter-of-fact" Hercules replied to the astonishment of both his friends, "Alek will live here with us." "Here?!" Jason blurted astounded. "Where?" Pythagoras asked at the same time, simultaneously sounding confused and excited. "In my room of course" Hercules replied like both boys were being particularly dense. "But where will you sleep?" Jason asked still confused. "I'll set up a bed on the balcony" Hercules shrugged. "Nonsense" Pythagoras told his burly friend crisply, "you shall take my room. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner" he said smugly. "Listen" Jason began, "I appreciate what you're trying to do—really, but I can't let you do this. It wouldn't be right; I mean it is your house after all. I'll just—" "You'll nothing" Hercules cut him off, "It's not _my_ house—" "Hercules!" Pythagoras started, only to have the big man silence him with a look. "It's _our_ house" Hercules indicated the three of them, "but that doesn't mean you don't still have to do as I say" he thumped the table again, "and I say I'll take the balcony, you'll stay where you are" he pointed at Pythagoras, "and you" he jabbed his finger toward Jason, "won't say another word about it unless it's ' _Thank you Hercules'_."

Jason grasped the burly mans' arm, "Thank you—both of you" he said sincerely, "you're the best friends I've ever had—you're my family." The three of them sat quietly for a while, until Pythagoras roused himself enough to finish dividing up the last of the bread, olives, and cheese that Alek had bought for them the day she'd shown up on their doorstep; afterwards, Jason went to sit vigil by Aleks' bedside while the others murmured quietly in the main room. Still he heard every word, as if the two were sitting right beside him. ' _That's weird_ ' he thought tiredly, ' _I've never been able to do that before'._ Maybe it was another one of those _'gifts_ ' the Oracle kept going on about like the freaky agility, speed, and strength he'd suddenly developed since arriving in Atlantis.

It would be dark soon, and Jason was exhausted; his body felt like it was made of lead and every joint ached. He heard the front door open as Hercules murmured about a tavern, and then the big man clumping down the stairs before heading out into the gathering gloom of dusk. Pythagoras puttered in the main room tiding up, before poking his head in the door of Hercules room to check on Alek. Seeing Jason nearly asleep on a stool, he came in and coaxed his brunette friend into lying down beside his beloved after they carefully shifted her over to the side of the big bed nearest the wall. Assuring himself that both his charges were tucked up safe and well, the mathematician retired to his own bed and some much deserved rest. Jason tried to sleep, once he'd made sure that Alek was indeed simply sleeping and not in some vision induced coma, but he couldn't. His skin tingled and itched all over, and his insides felt like a withering mass of snakes determined to eat their way out of his abdomen. He considered waking Pythagoras and asking for one of his tonics, no matter how foul it tasted, but when he swung his feet to the floor to stand up a blinding pain lanced through his body, stealing his breath and dropping him to his knees. White hot pain rippled through Jasons' body in waves, and he knew he was going to die. Rage like he'd never felt before was searing his mind but had no particular target. He knew that if he could just wake Pythagoras in the other room, that the ginger would know what to do, but when he opened his mouth all that came out was a low guttural snarl.

Swaying from the pain still wracking his body, Jason crawled on all fours to the bedroom door and pawed at it, trying to get it open. Finally one long sharp claw?—fingernail?—caught the edge, opening it enough that he could wiggle through to the main room. Moonlight flooded through the wide balcony windows onto the floor, and the cool radiance called to him like water to a man dying of thirst. Painstakingly, he managed to get his legs underneath him and maneuver into the patch of moonlight on the floor; the occasional clicks from the claws protruding from his massive paws, and a low sporadic growl were the only sounds he made. Collapsing in the moonlight, he lay panting as his body continued to morph into something strong, dark, and dangerous. His vision tunneled and shifted until finally he could pick out the tiniest detail in the grain of the wood floor, hear the boisterous laughter coming from a tavern two streets over, but most importantly he could feel the breath of the sleeping human man in the room across from him that somehow he knew wasn't a threat, as well as smell the pheromones of the woman in the other room that told him they were his—his mate, his pack. The moon called to him like a sirens song, he needed to be outside in the night air to run, to hunt, to sink his teeth into his prey and feel the hot thick blood of his kill course down his throat. Rising to his feet he looked once more at the man on the bed, instinctively trusting the knowledge that this one was ' _pack_ ' not prey. Padding to the door, he used his teeth to pull back the bar keeping the door closed, allowing it to creak open before slipping out to start the hunt.

* * *

Translations courtesy of Google translate.  
French: "My name is Alek and I am engaged to Jason." "Yes you are, beautiful."  
Spanish: "Oh no! Down boy, no PDA remember?  
German: "I remember my love, but soon enough I'll have you in my bed."


	10. Chapter 10--Perfect Mother Material

**Chapter 10—Perfect Mother Material**

A strange tickling sensation under his nose woke Jason at dawn the next morning. His mouth tasted foul and when he cracked open an eye and tried to spit the only thing to come out were a few damp feathers. Looking down in confusion, he realized with a start that he was lying naked in a large chicken pen, covered in dirt, dried blood, and feathers, with scratches all over his arms and legs. ' _What the bloody hell was in that wine last night?_ ' he wondered standing up and glancing round in hopes of spotting his cloths, only to have to duck and hide to avoid being seen by a couple of guards on early morning patrol. Once they were out of sight, Jason quickly stepped over the woven fence and headed for home using a plump hen to hide his front bits from any early citizens heading to work. He'd nearly made it home when he was forced to hide behind some crates from a woman stacking brightly colored blankets on a hand cart in preparation for the day's trip to the agora. Luckily he didn't have to hide long, because the woman had no sooner disappeared back into her house than the chicken he was holding began to squawk and scratch viciously in a bid for freedom, forcing him to release it before it drew too much attention. Quickly checking that the coast was still clear, he crept from his hiding spot trying to cover his pride with his hands and headed for the corner leading to his home street, but froze when he heard the creak of a door directly behind him. Praying it wasn't a guard, he slowly turned around only to wish an instant later it _had_ been a guard. Coming toward him carrying a huge basket of bread loaves and what looked like melons was the elderly woman who'd befriended Alek.

Glancing up she caught sight of Jason in all his glory before he'd a chance to hide. Dropping the basket in shock sending melons and bread loaves rolling everywhere, the woman stared at Jason dumb-founded. ' _God—Alek is going to murder me providing I don't die of embarrassment first_ ' Jason grimaced, blushing to the roots of his hair. "Morning!" he muttered, backing up gingerly before ducking around the corner and breaking into a mad dash for home before the woman had a chance to react. He heard a shout just as he reached the outer door of the house; dashing up the stairs he quickly opened the front door of the home he shared with his friends enough to slip inside, all the while watching and listening to the street that was just visible through the outer door, and breathing a sigh of relief when he was safely inside. Turning around he came face to face with his two friends sitting at the kitchen table; Pythagoras was peeking over the hand Hercules was holding over the gingers eyes in an attempt to shield the mathematician from the view of their naked house-mate.

"Do you want to tell us what's going on?" Hercules growled at the brunette. "Can I get dressed first?" Jason asked meekly. "No," Hercules tossed him a blanket, "Sit down and start talking" he barked. Jason flushed but did as he was told. "What happened last night" Pythagoras asked worried, "I woke up thinking Hercules was stumbling home drunk again—" "Oi!" Hercules glared at the younger man beside him. "Only to find neither you nor he were home" the mathematician went on, ignoring the big man next to him. "I saw the front door standing open but when I checked the street outside no one was there." "What have you been doing all night that has you dragging home at dawn—naked no less, when you've clearly got a beautiful young woman already in your bed?" Hercules wanted to know. Jason huffed aggravated "I don't remember, I think I must have been sleep walking. All I know is I was in bed, I went to sleep... next, I'm waking up naked in an animal pen." He was as clueless as his friends about last night's activities. "It happens" the burly wrestler smirked enjoying the brunettes' embarrassment. "Well, not to me!" Jason snapped. "Never?" Pythagoras asked disbelievingly. "No" Jason replied flatly, wondering if romping nude with a bunch of livestock was a common occurrence for Greek youths, like trying to sneak into the girl's dormitory in boarding school or getting pissed with your mates on a pub crawl when one of their girlfriends dumped them. "Why?" He looked at the young genius sharply, "how often has it happened to you?"

Pythagoras flushed before clearing his throat, "That's not relative to my point" he mumbled, embarrassed. "Then what is!" Jason retorted sharply. He wanted a bath, he was itchy from dried blood and straw and he needed to use one of the splintered twigs Pythagoras made him in lieu of an actual toothbrush to clean his teeth and get the foul taste out of his mouth; not sit here naked underneath a blanket and swap stories about misspent youth. Pythagoras looked at Jason exasperated, "This—right here is my point" he indicated toward Jason with both hands, "the aggression, temper, the sense of smell, something has happened to you. Have you done anything different, been anywhere?" Jason looked at Pythagoras confused, he barely been out of their sight since the day Alek arrived; when did the mathematician think he'd had time to sneak away? "No. Nowhere" Jason denied firmly. "Are you sure" Hercules asked slyly. "Yes!" the brunette retorted as his irritation ratcheted up another notch. Pythagoras waved Hercules to be quiet, "Think, Jason, this is important—there has to be a reason somewhere." Fighting the urge to slap his friends round the head in frustration, Jason mentally went over every place he'd been over the last few days, when it hit him, "There was one place" he admitted guiltily, "I'm not sure what it was really, it was a sort of shrine I think. Just to the north of the Sacred Way." "What sort of shrine?" Pythagoras asked anxiously, "To which god or goddess?" Jason shrugged, "No idea, they pretty much all look the same to me."

Hercules snorted in derision, "Big surprise" the burly wrestler muttered, earning another frown from both his friends. "Right then" Pythagoras sighed, "I'll go see about this shrine. Jason you go get washed up and try to find some clothes. Hercules, you stop guzzling the wine—we're all going to need clear heads if we are to have any chance of solving today's problems." Hercules looked momentarily offended, "Hang on! If anyone's going to check out this shrine, it should be me" he told the ginger gruffly, "What if there's trouble? You couldn't get yourself out of it." "No, it has to be me" Pythagoras insisted, "because I'm the most likely to recognize what and how whatever is affecting Jason works." "Fine" Hercules scowled, "but be cautious, and if there's the slightest sign of trouble, get out." "Yes, yes, yes," Pythagoras waved off the warning, "I have a healthy sense of self-preservation thank you, unlike some" he muttered indicating where Jason had gone out to the balcony to clean up. "I heard that mate" Jasons' muffled reply came from behind the blanket he'd hung across the door for privacy. Pythagoras and Hercules exchanged worried looks, before the ginger headed out to see if he could discover what sort of trouble their brunette friend had landed in this time.

After cleaning off all the dried blood and chicken feathers, and dumping the dirty water down the latrine; Jason wrapped the blanket back around his shoulders, holding it closed with one hand while he cleaned his teeth with the other and went to peek in on Alek before scrounging up his spare tunic and leggings. Quietly poking his head around the door, he found Alek curled up around the tunic he'd been wearing last night. ' _Huh,_ ' thought Jason, ' _that's weird. I must have taken it off sometime last night without realizing it_.' Though he'd never slept walked before, with all the strangeness he'd experienced since arriving in Atlantis, walking in his sleep would be quite dull and tame. Re-focusing on the woman in the bed, he smiled as he took in the long lashes dusting her cheeks and her hair spread down her back and over the blanket like rivers of dusky chocolate. Jasons' breath hitched at just seeing her so close; silently he slipped into the room, closing the door and dropping the latch into place.

Dropping the blanket on the floor, he laid his make-shift toothbrush on the table by the bed, before slidding beneath the covers and molding himself to Aleks' back. Slipping his arms around the still sleeping woman, he buried his nose in her hair and inhaled the spicy floral scent of her. Splaying his fingers across her taunt stomach, he nuzzled the back of her neck and trailed soft kisses from there to her shoulder and back, pausing to nibble on the delicate lobe of her ear as his hand drifted down to caress her thigh through the soft linen leggings she wore underneath the red and black split tunic. Alek squirmed as the stubble on his face tickled her ear and neck, unconsciously wiggling her bum against his groin. Jason groaned deep in his throat as the sensations ignited a flame in his abdomen that was quickly burning lower and he felt himself begin to stiffen and grow. Glancing up he saw Alek watching him sleepily from beneath her lashes. "All right beautiful?" Jason asked grinning at her sleepy tousled countenance as Alek turned in his arms and snuggled closer to his chest. "Uhmm, better now" she replied drawing him down for a kiss, sliding her hands into his curls and parting her lips as he sought to deepen the kiss. Running her hands down his back, she chuckled when she encountered his naked bum beneath the covers. "Starting the party a bit early are we?" she teased, "What happened to proper decorum and all that rot?" Jason grinned mischievously, "You make too tempting a target, and besides with a mate like Hercules around it pays to stake a claim early." Alek laughed outright, tugging on a curl of his hair playfully, and pulling a stray feather out.

Looking bemused, she held up the feather between them, quirking a brow in question. "Long story" Jason told her, "and we better hurry if we want any breakfast; Hercules can't be trusted around pie any more than he can beautiful women." They heard the front door open, signaling Pythagoras' return as Jason was getting dressed. Alek located his leggings underneath the bed, while he searched out both his own and her sandals. "Wait a second please" Alek said quietly, pulling Jason back before he had a chance to open the bedroom door, "I wanted to ask you about last night." "What about it" Jason replied, trying to appear nonchalant. "Well for starters, what happened? I mean the last thing I remember was you showing us your ribs, and then waking up this morning wit—oh my God!" Alek looked at him horrified, before suddenly trying to pull off the tunic Jason had donned minutes before, "I completely forgot about your bruises! How are they this morning?" "Alek, calm down love, I'm fine" Jason laughed capturing her hands in his as the petite brunette tried to wrestle his tunic up. "Here see? their gone, just like I told you they would be" he said, pulling his shirt up to show her his ribcage. "But how is that possible?" Alek murmured running her fingertips over the unmarked skin. "I've no idea" Jason replied truthfully, sending up a silent ' _thank you_ ' to the Gods for the distraction, "but as whatever it is has saved my life more than once, I tend to not question it. Now let's get some breakfast before Hercules eats it all." Gathering around the table in the main room, Alek passed around each wooden plate as Pythagoras divided the remaining Bougatsa and Jason filled each person's cup with wine.

"Just water for me please" she told Jason, "it's a bit too early for wine." "It's well past dawn", Hercules informed her, taking a large swig from his cup. Jason grinned good naturedly at the big man and passed Alek the water jug. ' _I'll never get used to the excessive intake of alcohol here_ ' Alek thought; wine was consumed with every meal, and it was a lot more potent than anything she'd ever had before, short of Mac's bourbon, which would account for her fuzzy memory of last night. "So" Hercules grinned at Jason, "have you asked her yet?" he queried gleefully, looking between the two brunettes. Jason looked confused until he remembered last night's plan for keeping Alek close, but before he had a chance to broach the subject, Alek answered assuming the big man had been talking about a different question. "Yes, as a matter-of-fact he has" Alek replied shyly, "It was three years ago this past fall." "What?" now Hercules was the one confused, "but we only discussed it last night." "She meant I asked her to marry me three years ago" Jason clarified. "Three years?!" Hercules exclaimed, staring at Jason shocked, "are you insane? Why in the name of the God's would you risk losing such a vision of loveliness to another man?"

"I'll be sure to tell Medusa your opinion on the matter" Jason smirked, "maybe we can have a double wedding—though you'll have to buy a ring first." "Why on earth would he need to buy a ring?" Pythagoras inquired, fascinated. "You don't necessarily have to buy a new one" Alek told the ginger, "quite a few people pass down rings from generation to generation—they become family heirlooms, like the ring Jason gave me." Alek held out her left hand to show them the heavy gold signet ring on the third finger, "This was Jason's mums' ring." "His what?" Hercules asked confused. "Mum" Alek told the burly wrestler, "It's what people usually call their mother where we're from." Pythagoras looked at Jason sharply, "This belonged to your mother? I thought you never knew her." Jason shrugged, "I didn't" he replied, "my dad always told me she died when I was born. He brought the ring and my necklace with him when he left Atlantis with me as a baby." "Fascinating," murmured Pythagoras quietly. Jason usually shied away from talking about his past, but he'd revealed more in the last twenty four hours since Alek's arrival than he had in the last year on his own. Pythagoras had suspected for a while that his brunette friend had come from a noble family. Jason was simply too educated, with too much inherent knowledge of military training to not have had wealthy lineage. That in addition to the solid gold emblem on his necklace and now the fact he'd given Alek a ring that was so obviously a symbol of wealth, convinced the mathematician more than ever that there was more to Jason than anyone suspected.

No one noticed the uncomfortable look Alek got when Jason mentioned his mum dying. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" she asked brightly, trying to change the subject, "Do you have to work again today? I forgot to ask how the job went last evening." "Uhmm, no, no work today" Jason answered reluctantly as now he searched for a way to change the topic, "but the boys and I did have something to discuss with you…" he looked at the other two for help. Pythagoras blushed furiously and Hercules just grinned at the brunette lad and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Yes?" Alek asked curiously. "Well…see it's like this, I'm—we're worried still about you staying on your own so far across the city—only because you're new here—no-not because we think you can't take care of yourself see, but there's a hundred different ways you can get into trouble here, a—" "Yes, and he" Hercules interrupted indicating Jason, "found most of them his first week here so we should know. Remember the Hydra?" he asked Pythagoras. "Ugg, don't remind me" the ginger grimaced, "half the fruit vendors in the city were ready to lynch us."

"HEY!" exclaimed Jason indignantly, "it kept chasing me if you recall." "A hydra?" Alek looked incredulous, "as in a real live giant venomous reptile with multiple heads type hydra?" "Of course" Pythagoras said confused, "what other kind is there?" "Where in Gods' name were you that you were being chased by a bloody hydra!" she whirled on Jason. "The agora" he shrugged, "it chased me my first day in Atlantis when I tried to pet it and then afterward every time I'd cut through the agora until finally I made friends with it." "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, why?—why were you idiotic enough to try and _pet a Hydra_ , much less become its best mate! Was the pet shop out of basilisks that day?!" she was glaring at Jason ominously. Jason snorted and rolled his eyes, "This from the woman who wanted to go swimming with sharks off Queenslands' coast on our last holiday." "Yes, but you don't get out of the cage and try to pet the sharks now do you?" she shot back sarcastically, "but just so I know, how do you make friends with a hydra?" "Feed it a couple live rats a day for about a week" he grinned wickedly at her. "Well that's…disgusting" she shivered, not sure which would be worse; getting attacked by a Hydra or having to touch a live rat.

"Anyway, you wanted to ask me something?" she looked at the three. "Yeah, we were wondering if you'd like to stay here with us, instead of at the inn" Jason looked at her hopefully. "Here—with you?" Alek asked rhetorically, "but wouldn't that make things a bit…crowded?" she asked hesitantly. "I'd hate to cause trouble or put anyone out, besides" she looked at Jason uncertainly, "I thought, now I've found you that you mi-might want to look for a way home" she finished in a rush. Jason tipped up Alek' head, forcing her to look at him, "I can't promise there _is_ a way to go home—at least not that I've ever found, but I promise one day if we can and you still want too, we'll try ok?" "Ok" she smiled tremulously. "But until then, we'd be pleased if you'd consent to live here" Hercules assured her, "trust me when I say it'd keep him from getting into more trouble" he jerked his thumb at Jason, "and me from getting more grey hair not to mention the fortune we'd save in bandages." Alek couldn't help smiling at the insulted expression on Jasons' face, "What would be the sleeping arrangements and financial responsibilities?" "Everyone contributes to the household fund—food, supplies, etc. and everyone pitches in on chores" Jason told her, "as for the sleeping arrangements…Hercules and Pythagoras have both offered to give you their rooms and they'd move out onto the balcony." "Certainly not!" Alek responded instantly, "I have no intention of moving in a usurping either of your friends space—though I'm flattered and grateful for the offer" she assured them. "I told them you'd feel that way" Jason sighed shaking his head. "Listen," Alek offered, "if you're really that serious about me not being on my own, I'll kip on the balcony—at least for the time being, deal?" Jason looked at his friends in turn and received a nod from each, "Deal" he grinned.

After breakfast, Alek managed to convince Jason that she was perfectly capable of walking to the inn alone in broad daylight and collecting her things. Agreeing to meet Jason by her favorite fountain in the agora at noon to see about purchasing a bed and other things she'd need she set off. When she reached the agora, Alek stopped by Emineous' stall long enough to tell her elderly friend her about her change in living quarters and was treated to a tale of how the Emineous had discovered Jason sneaking home at dawn that morning in naught but his skin. Promising her friend that she would get to the bottom of this mystery, Alek asked the elderly baker to let her grandson know that Alek would come by to pick up the rest of the clothes she'd commissioned instead of having them delivered. Promising to see the old woman tomorrow, Alek continued on to the inn, only to be descended on by Ioustos and Iezabel as soon as she stepped thropugh the door, who'd been worried when she failed to return to the inn last evening.

"My lady, are you well? We were worried for you and had determined to alert the city patrol had you not returned today" Ioustos informed her. "Oh! I'm so sorry" Alek replied regretfully, "it just never occurred to me to send word—I stayed with my fiancé and his…family last evening. I only came to collect my things and settle my account." "You're to be wed!" Ieza asked excitedly, "how wonderful. Father has promised that I shall meet my husband in the next year or so, once Kapaneus is old enough he won't need me as much." Alek had forgotten the custom of this era where young girls were married off soon after puberty to increase the number of childbearing years needed by the Greek city-states to maintain its military ranks. Smiling at the teen, Alek refrained from her automatic desire to rant about predatory men who were given free rein to prey on young girls under the guise of marriage. Turning to Ioustos, she inquired if there were any monies owed over the amount she'd already paid her first night there. "No Miss Alek," Ioustos replied smiling, "In fact you are due two silver Diobols in return. I will get them for you as soon as I have instructed the cooks on the evening meal." "Thank you," Alek smiled, "but I wonder if Ieza could possibly use them to purchase a traveling bag for me and bring it up to my room while I pack." "Of course" the innkeeper replied bowing at the brunette woman. Ieza followed her father into the back of the inn while Alek headed upstairs to get her few belongings together.

It took next to no time for Alek to gather her belongings from the trunk in her room, so while she waited for Ieza to return, she pulled a chair over to the window and watched the comings and goings of the marketplace below. As she idly watched the hubbub in the street below, her mind turned to wondering just what the bloody hell had happened last night at the house with Jason and his two friends. Why would Jason be sneaking home at dawn? And naked no less—it didn't sound like something he'd do. If it were any other man, Alek would have immediately said he was sneaking home like that from whatever woman he'd tumbled the night before, but she knew the odds of Jason playing Lothario were slim to nonexistent. No there had to be another explanation, and she was determined to ask him at the first opportunity. A knock at the door roused her from her musings, and ushered in Ieza carrying a leather satchel. The younger girl showed Alek how an inner flap of the bag folded over the contents, and then drawstrings tightly closed the bag before the outer flap was buckled closed over the whole affair and secured with wooden toggles through leather loops effectively keeping the bags contents virtually waterproof.

Alek quickly packed her few belongings from the trunk, along with the purple outfit Ieza had brought along from the laundry into the bag, closing it tight. Turning to hug the younger girl good-bye, Alek slipped a wooden hair comb inlaid with oyster shell into the girls' hand that Alek had purchased in the agora after her trip to the baths. "Oh my l—Alek, thank you" the girl caught herself, "it's beautiful, is it really for me?" "Of course poppet, you're the only one here after all" Alek laughed, "every young woman deserves something pretty to wear in her hair." The two tearfully hugged goodbye; with Alek promising to visit Ieza and her father again whenever she could. Handing over the room key, Alek headed out to await Jason in the agora.

Back at the house, after Alek had left that morning, Pythagoras had explained that the shrine Jason had sought refuge in was dedicated to the goddess Hecate. The young genius had outlined his plan to go to the great library located in a wing of the Temple of Posidon and see what he could discover about the witch goddess. Once the ginger had left to find out whatever he could about Hecate, Jason and Hercules worked at moving the small table and benches that normally sat on the balcony into Pythagoras' room. It was nearly midday by the time they had cleared the room, cleaned the floor, and rigged a curtain across the doorway. "You know" Hercules stared at Jason speculatively, "if old Linos from next door moves to Athens like he keeps going on about, we could purchase his house and open up the wall between his house and ours. That would make plenty of room for all of us, including the little ones." Jason looked up at him startled, "What little ones?" Hercules rolled his eyes, "I will never cease to be amazed by your ignorance—the little ones you and Alek will have of course! You do realize what occurs between a man and a woman yes?" Jason flushed, "Yes" he replied shortly. "Well then you should know children are often a result of that" Hercules smirked. "We're not even married yet" Jason sounded slightly strangled; "I don't think we have to plan for babies just yet!" "Don't be a fool like I was and put it off" Hercules said seriously, "you don't want to wake up one day and realize it's too late." "I think you and Medusa would have lovely children" Jason grinned. "Naturally, unfortunately she is no longer speaking to me since the whole pig incident, remember?" the burly wrestler sighed sadly. "She'll forgive you eventually" Jason tried to encourage the big man, "you can't give up hope." Hercules just grunted noncommittally. "I need to get to the agora and meet Alek" Jason said, "I promised I'd help her buy a bed." Hercules grinned slyly, "Better make sure it's big enough for two!" he teased. Jason ignored him and headed out the door.

Several hours later, Jason and Alek returned along with a porter and cart piled high with a bed frame, straw tick, a flax and feather stuffed topper, and two large chests; one of which was filled with new linen sheets, blankets, and a fur lined bed cover, while the second was stuffed full of feather pillows. In among the furnishings were foodstuffs, including: several large wine amphorae, a basket of fruit, one of assorted vegetables, and another of assorted pastries and bread, wheels of cheese dipped in wax, pots of green and black olives, a couple of smoked hams, ropes of sausages, a fresh leg of mutton, small jars of spices and larger ones filled with either honey or olive oil, a flat with eggs and a large jug of milk. "What is going on?" Hercules asked incredulously as Jason and the porter brought in the first load. Jason shrugged, "Alek loves to feed people" he told the big man, "this is her share of the household food budget as well as a way of saying thank you for letting her live here."

"Just how rich is your betrothed?" Hercules asked wide-eyed as the porter lugged two more amphorae up the steps. Jason laughed, "Not rich enough that she can afford to do this again" he replied, "in fact if we're to make a life for ourselves here in Atlantis and buy the house next door, then I need to start looking for steady work tomorrow." Hercules clapped the lad on the back, "You could always join the wrestling circuit." "I'll pass thanks" the brunette chuckled, "I've seen Pythagoras patch you up too often to be foolish enough to try that." "I'll have you know wrestling is a noble profession" Hercules glared at Jason, "it's in my blood—a part of who I am." "Yeah and we've seen your blood often enough in the wrestling ring" Jason teased dancing out of reach of the big man, "now how about helping pack this lot inside. If I know Alek, she'll be busy the rest of the afternoon cooking." "Where is she anyway?" Hercules asked, following Jason down to the cart. "Guarding the booty" the brunette replied as he moved aside to allow the porter to pass them on the stairs.

When the two reached the street, they found Alek dangling over the side of the cart, her feet waving in the air as she attempted to shift one of the chests closer to her. Motioning Hercules to stay quiet, Jason silently slipped up behind her. Too late to stop him, Hercules realized what his young friend intended to do. The foolish boy had obviously already forgotten his own warning about not startling the girl, because just as she managed to latch hold of a chest, Jason reached out grabbed her around the ribs. A blood curdling shriek was heard as she instinctively defended herself, locking her legs around Jason's head and twisting her body violently to the side sending them both tumbling to the ground, where she ended astraddle Jason's chest, her knees pining his arms to the ground and both fists raised ready to attack. "Jason I'm going to _murder_ you, I swear to God" she threatened, "if you don't bloody well stop sneaking up on me!" He grinned up at her impishly, "Just trying to keep your reflexes sharp love" he sniggered, "you never know when you'll need them." "Especially with you around" she replied snidely, clambering off him and offering a hand up.

"I take back what I said earlier" Hercules told Jason sardonically, "we should sign _her_ up for the wrestling ring; we'd make a fortune." "Can't" Jason grinned as he effortlessly slid the chest Alek had been trying to wrestle with to the side and picked it up, "Alek's essentially a pacifist—so long as you're not hurting innocents or trying to take her by surprise, then it's every man for himself." "In your case I'm just going to withhold dessert" Alek arched a brow and smirked at her beloved. Hercules burst out laughing at the horrified look on the brunette lad's face, anyone walking by would have thought his puppy had just died. "What did I say" the burly wrestler chortled, "perfect mother material."


	11. Chapter 11--Nothing to Worry About

AN: Thanks everyone for your continued reviews, favorites, and follows. I truly appreciate it. As always Atlantis and all its main characters are owned by the BBC; I own nothing except my own storyline and OC's.

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"Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word."

― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

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 **Nothing to Worry About**

Neither Hercules, Jason nor Alek paid any attention to the people bustling up and down the busy street as they rushed to unload the rest of the furnishings and food. Finally all the goods were unloaded and packed up the stairs, and Alek dropped a silver hemitartemorion into the porters palm and thanked him for his patience and hard work. The young man ducked his head embarrassed at the praise and quickly bowed before turning on his heel and grabbing the handles of the cart and setting off down the street. During all the hustle and bustle, none of them noticed the strange tattooed man in the black cloak watching from the shadow of an awning at the end of the street. Indeed, he seemed to almost blend into the shadows to the point that none who wasn't looking directly at him would know he was there. It was a trick he'd learned long ago when he had first began his service to his goddess. The priest had taken the precaution of standing upwind of the trio, but wouldn't have been overly concerned if he weren't. The interloper who'd defiled his goddesses' shrine obviously wasn't fully converted yet, if the smaller female could so easily knock him to the ground; so he posed little threat to the priest hiding in the shadows. The priest was known as Lamia to those within his order, though he answered to none of them and there were few indeed either inside it or out who would be foolish enough to cross him, for he served his Goddess with a fanaticism only a true zealot could achieve.

The Goddess Hecate was known and feared by most as the most vicious of the deities in the Greek pantheon—avoided by even Zeus, and answerable to only her mother Nyx from whom all darkness is borne. When Lamia had returned to Atlantis and discovered the break-in at the shrine and the theft of the offering meat, he'd tried following the scent of the interloper who'd dared defile his Goddesses shrine that night, but too many others had crossed its path. He'd returned to the shrine and lain in wait, gambling on the chance that anyone brave or stupid enough to steal an offering to Hecate might also be fool enough to return. His theory proved correct, when early the next morning, a scrawny pale youth had crept cautiously through the door. Lamia recognized immediately that this mewling man-child was not the one the priest sought; he was too frail and the smell of his fear fairly rolled off him in waves. Realizing the youth would likely lead him if not directly to the one he sought, at least closer to him, Lamia followed the ginger haired young man back through the city to a house off the Canopic Way. Lamia knew immediately that he'd found the right place. The defiler's scent hung heavy in the air and after only a few moments the priest had memorized it well enough that he would've been able to follow it through the city blind. Lamia watched as the ginger haired boy went inside and a bit later a woman emerged and headed toward the agora. The priest felt a familiar tug of power from her and was tempted to follow her at first but decided to wait. She had the scent of the one he was hunting on her, but her red and black garb was too fine to belong to a simple dwelling like this; no he would wait and see if the interloper immerged. The scrawny youth emerged again later and set off into the maze of streets, yet still Lamia watched and waited, one did not reach his level in service to Hecate by being impatient. Shortly before noon, his vigilance was rewarded when a dark haired young man exited the house and set off in the same direction as the woman.

Lamia immediately detected the scent of the Goddess' blessing and was confused. Why would Hecate bestow her greatest gift on this blasphemer? The priest followed the brunette as he attempted to work out his mistresses will; the Goddess had not created a hound in over twenty years, not since she had blessed Lamia himself on the eve he slaughtered his predecessor on her altar as proof of his loyalty. Could that be her plan? If so, he knew she would be disappointed, he might be getting a little long in the tooth but this arrogant whelp hadn't even the sense to scent the area surrounding his den before leaving. Lamia knew the cub's senses would be duller during the day in his weaker human form, at least until he killed and consumed his first human prey, but the priest had no intention of letting his rival live that long. Shadowing his quarry, Lamia was surprised when the young man plunged straight into the din of the agora; the noise alone should have been enough to send the newly created Kynikoi fleeing in agony—perhaps there was more to this one than first appeared. Melting into the crowd, Lamia drew closer, though he still took the precaution of staying upwind of the younger hound. Once again the priest was surprised when the whelp made straight for the woman Lamia had seen leaving the house earlier and enfolded her in a clearly amorous embrace. Lamia could smell the spicy scent of latent power coming from the female, as well as the electric tingle in the air surrounding her that fair screamed divinity—a newly awakening demi-goddess paired with a newly created Kynikoi? The potential for chaos and bloodshed was staggering the priest realized.

The problem was that the only way this upstart cub and his mate could take over the vast territory that included Atlantis, was if he managed to kill Lamia first, and the priest wasn't about to let that happen. Shadowing the pair as they went about the various market stalls and merchant houses buying things the priest assumed were to line the interlopers den, a plan began to form in Lamia' mind. The female seemed to not have come into her full power yet, and the whelp obviously hadn't made his first human kill. If Lamia could trap the younger hound and kill him before he achieved his full status, then the female could easily be swayed into accepting Lamia as the stronger mate. Together they could achieve much in Hecate's name and Lamia would no longer have to fight to defend his territory against other hounds. The cubs defeat and the change of allegiance of the newly budding demi-goddess would assure Lamia of his place in the goddesses' service for the rest of his days. When he'd assured himself that the woman was indeed going to be under the same roof as his rival, at least for a while, Lamia slid silently out of the awnings shadow and disappeared into the maze of streets to bide his time. He had a plan, now all he need do was wait for an opportunity to catch the female alone and the bait for his trap would be set.

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Alek had indeed bought a double 'marriage' bed, and while Hercules and Jason set it up in the balcony room, she worked at finding places to fit all the food she had bought in the tiny kitchen space before beginning to try to prepare a decent meal without the benefit of modern cooking apparatus. Everything mostly fit easily on the shelves, but the wine amphorae had to be lined up alongside the wall opposite the entryway and the hams and ropes of smoked sausages suspended from the ceiling beams with twine. By the time everything was put away, the bed was nearly assembled, only needing the leather straps and thin wooden lathes that formed the bottom attached. Alek was nearly ready to start cooking, she just needed to locate something to use as an apron over her clothes as she tended to be a messy cook. ' _Nona always said the food doesn't taste good unless the cook gets their hands dirty_ ' she thought wryly, poking her head around the doorway to her new room to check on the 'boys'.

"You wouldn't happen to have an apron by any chance would you?" she asked hopefully, "I don't mind messing up my clothes, but the only thing I have to change into is the purple princess getup and I don't fancy looking like Barneys bleeding love slave." Hercules simply stared at her open-mouthed, though whether from reference confusion or the picture she described, Alek wasn't sure. Jason chuckled, "I think I have something that will help", digging underneath the cot he slept on in the main room, he pulled out a leather bag similar to the one Ieza had purchased for Alek. Pulling out a rough linen tunic and leggings identical to the ones he had on, Jason passed them to Alek. "You can use these" he told her, "they've seen worse than cooking stains trust me." Taking the bundle with thanks, she stole a quick kiss before going to change in Hercules' room. The tunic came down nearly to her knees and the leggings that barely reached Jason above his ankle, had to be rolled up a cuff to keep them from covering Alek's feet. By the time she emerged, the bed was assembled and Jason and Hercules were sitting at the kitchen table taking a break while they split a bunch of grapes. "So what's this feast to include?" Hercules asked as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Spit roast mutton of course" Alek replied as she ticked off the dishes she thought she could manage on her fingers, "vegetable kabobs, spinach and feta flatbread…" "And?" Jason asked grinning, "I know there's an ' _and_ ' because you never cook like this without planning something special for the end." Hercules looked at them flabbergasted, "There's more!" "Well I can't promise" Alek told them truthfully, "but I have an idea I'm going to try." "Do you need any help?" Jason asked as he popped the last grape into his mouth. "Always" she nodded, "I'll need plenty of water to clean things as I go and some kabob sticks whittled from one of the extra lathes." Retrieving a lathe, Jason quickly cut and sharpened a kabob stick that Hercules could use as a guide before turning the task over to the big man while Jason ran water detail, filling two large jugs from a nearby well. Alek searched through several small cloth bags of herbs she'd purchased until she found what she was looking for. Humming to herself, she borrowed Hercules eating knife and chopped mint, dill, and parsley, mixing it with olive oil and a dash of sea salt. Carefully coating the mutton all over with the herb mixture, she threaded the leg on mutton onto the spit and hung it over the hearth to roast. Washing her hands, utensils, and work surface, she turned next to the large basket of vegetables, selecting tubers, onions, peppers, and garlic. Chopping the vegetables into even chunks, she alternated vegetables and garlic cloves until she'd made enough kabobs for each person to have two. Brushing each one with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, she arranged them on the iron grill frame that fit underneath the spit, giving the mutton a quarter turn before turning back to the next dish.

Starting an assembly line with Jason and Hercules, the trio soaked broad palm leaves in water before wrapping them tightly around apples, pears, and plums, nestling them in the hot ashes all around the square stone hearth. Then while Jason and Hercules took turns working the spit, Alek used the mortar and pestle to grind the coarse wheat flour along with cinnamon, nutmeg, until she had a finer spiced flour. Tipping the base into a mixing bowl, she carefully measured milk, and honey to the dry ingredients until she had a crumbling mixture resembling graham cracker crust. Alek pressed the resulting 'crust' into a shallow baking pan before setting it in the hot coals to bake. Now there was nothing left to do until the fruit baked and the rest of the meal slowly roasted, so Alek sat at the table enjoying a mug of cool water and listening to a fantastical tale from Hercules of how he'd once killed a massive lion with a spear when he had been on a hunting trip with his father as a young man. "You weren't in the Nemean Forest by any chance were you?" Alek asked fascinated. Hercules looked at her startled, "How did you know that? Have you been to Nemea before?" "No," Jason cut in quickly, but we've both heard stories of how big some of the wild-life there is." He shot Alek a warning look, causing her to blush slightly at the slip and quickly change the subject.

"Could you check the fruit please Hercules?" Alek asked as she passed him a thick long handled wooden spoon and wooden bowl so that he could fish each palm wrapped fruit from the embers. Jason fished the baked pie crust from the embers and set it aside on the table to cool, before helping Hercules carefully unwrap the fruit from its protective layer of palm leaves. Meanwhile Alek removed the kabobs from the grill, sliding an iron frying pan onto their place to heat. Alek placed the finished kabobs on a plate after carefully cutting off the garlic cloves into a small bowl. Once again using the mortar and pestle, she longingly wished for her food processor back home as she mashed the garlic and mixed it with olive oil to make a creamy spread. Taking four tagenias from the bread basket, she spread each one with the garlic spread before layering fresh spinach and feta cheese over the top and popping it into the hot frying pan. It didn't take long for the spinach to begin to wilt and the feta to become soft and creamy. Alek removed each cheesy pancake when the edges began to turn brown and crisp, placing them on a platter and covering it with a clean kitchen cloth. By this time, the fruit had cooled enough that Jason was able to slice it up, while Alek experimented with what she hoped would be a cheesecake type filling. Since Greek culture wouldn't be exposed to actual sugar for several centuries, Alek was determined to make a palatable substitute using crystalized honey.

She put a small piece of soft mild goat cheese into a bowl and using a wooden spoon, she gradually worked it from a solid into a thick paste. Cutting a small piece off of the chunk of crystalized honey she'd bought in the agora that morning, Alek used the mortar and pestle to work it into a fine powder. Adding it to the creamed cheese along with a dollop of fresh cream, she stirred the concoction until it reached the rough consistency of cheesecake filling. Tasting a smidge on the tip of her finger, she discovered it had a tangier taste since she'd used goat's milk instead of cow's milk, but was still deliciously sweet. Getting an approving nod from both men after tasting the concoction, she quickly mixed up enough to use as filling in her dessert. Hercules had sliced the cooling fruit into a separate bowl while Alek had been experimenting with the pie filling, and now she and Jason worked together, making concentric circles of apple, pear, and plum slices on top of the filling until the whole pie was covered. Setting the pie back into the coals to bake, Alek turned a slightly larger pan over the top to keep out ash before starting to once again wash up, so as to keep ahead of the mess. Jason helped by drying each dish or utensil and putting it away, while Hercules sat by the fire slowly turning the spit so that the mutton would roast evenly. With the washing up finished, they only had to wait for the meat to finish roasting and Pythagoras to return and their first supper as a family would be ready.

The evening passed enjoyably as Alek and Jason sat listening to Hercules stories of bravery and daring. Jason had heard most of them before, but he had always been a sucker for a good story, and if nothing else Hercules had a knack for spinning a tale. Slowly the hours slipped by and the shadows began to lengthen and still their ginger haired friend didn't return. "He's holed up in the library with those blasted scrolls and has lost track of time again" Hercules grouched irritably; patience had never been a strong suit with him, especially when food was concerned and now he was being forced to wait when there was a feast spread before him. "Why that boy can't keep his priorities straight is beyond me—he's worse than you at times" the burly wrestler scowled at Jason. "Hey!" the brunette young man retorted, "it wasn't my idea to send him to research Hecate in the first place. That's on him not me." Hercules glared at Jason, "No but your ignorance is the reason the research was required though wasn't it?" Alek looked between the two, "Why is Pythagoras researching Hecate, and how is it Jason's fault?" Both men looked away guiltily but said nothing. "Hecate is the Goddess of witchcraft isn't she?" Alek said to no one in particular. "See! Right there! Even _she_ knows about Hecate" Hercules exclaimed loudly, waving toward Alek.

"What is so important about Hecate?" Alek asked again, "Jason?" she said pointedly. "It's nothing for you to worry about—really" Jason muttered refusing to meet her gaze, "it's just something Pythagoras is looking into, no big deal." "If it's not a big deal, then why can't you tell me?" Alek asked, watching both men carefully. "Pythagoras does this all the time," Jason answered evasively, "you heard Hercules, he's always going off to the library and losing track of the time." "Yes, but he also said that it was necessary this time because of you" she replied sharply, "so what has Hecate got to do with you?" "It's nothing to do with me personally" Jason insisted, still refusing to look at Alek directly, instead focusing on a point just above and behind her, "It's not my fault if Pythagoras decides to spend all day with his nose stuck in a book." Alek looked at Jason shocked, the two of them had made a decision early on that they would never lie to one another or have secrets from one another. They'd seen the damage both could do to a relationship; Alek when her mum and dad split up and Jason from a string of foster families, and right now Jason was doing both. Alek knew her fiancé better than probably anyone else, including Mac and she knew Jason was hiding something important and wasn't going to willingly share whatever it was that had him so worried. ' _Has so much changed between us this past year we've been apart?_ ' she wondered, feeling a small stab to her heart. The fact that he'd stressed the point that whatever was going on wasn't important enough to share with her and that she mustn't worry, only served to emphasize it was and she should.

Getting up from the table, Alek picked up one of the large water jugs and headed toward the door. "Where are you going?" Jason inquired a bit anxiously; when she pulled open the front door. Alek paused in the open doorway, "To get some wash water" Alek replied quietly not turning around. "Whats left to wash?" Hercules asked, oblivious to the tension in the room as he slowly turned the crank rotating the spit. "You don't have to do that, I'll get it for you" Jason offered starting to rise to his feet. "No!" Alek retorted, then looked back at him, "I know where the well is…its fine, I'll be back in a bit, don't worry." Alek quickly stepped out the door, pulling it shut behind her before anyone had a chance to say anything else. The last thing she heard was Hercules telling Jason what a fool he was before she fled down the stairs and toward the well. ' _What could be going on that was so bad that Jason would lie to me about it?_ ' Alek fretted, running over the last few days in her head, but it was no use. Without knowing what may have occurred, or when, she had no clue how or even if she could help. Reaching the well, she filled the jug then sat down on the side, unwilling to return to the house until she was certain she had a firm grasp on her temper. She and Jason had rarely ever argued, but something had changed in him, she could sense it.

Was it because of what she'd confessed to him about her stint in Psychiatric? When she'd passed out from the wine last night had it convinced him she wasn't capable of coping with stressful situations? But how did Hecate tie in with that? The only thing Alek could think of was that maybe Jason sought to make some sort of pact with the witch goddess to get them back home in much the same way Alek herself had with Nyx to get to Atlantis. That had to be it she realized, he didn't trust her to be able to cope with the stresses of trying to survive in this harsh time; that's why he wanted her to move in, so he could watch her for signs of another mental break until he could figure out a way to get them back home. ' _But he's made it abundantly clear already that he wasn't going to go back to England himself so he must mean to send me back alone_.' Why? Had he stopped caring for her in their time apart? Was he so disgusted by her attempted suicide that he just wanted to be rid of her? Why not just say that then, why all the secrecy? ' _Because he feels responsible for my being here; he won't just break things off, not until he's sure of a way for me to get out of here at least.'_ Alek could be as stubborn as her name implied, she was determined that she wasn't going anywhere without the man she loved; regardless whether or not he thought it was the right thing to do or not. What Alek had to figure out was why Jason so set on staying in a place and time that was so foreign to him. Alek didn't believe it was solely because he had been born here. Where a person was born didn't shape who they were, Alek had been born in France, but that didn't make her French dammit. They were both raised in and were citizens of the UK, and had the birth certificates, and passports to prove it, although it didn't bear thinking about what Mac and Ace had had to do to get Jason a birth certificate.

Dusk had begun to close in as she sat on the edge of the well, the sun was a huge orange and red sphere, the bottom of which was just touching the mountain range ringing the enormous valley that ran down to the sea where Atlantis lay nestled high on the cliffs. Sighing Alek rose to head back to the house when she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Starting to turn, a sharp pain exploded in her right temple. Alek heard the tinkling crash of the clay water jug breaking as she dropped to her knees and slumped onto her side sliding into darkness. Lamia leered down at the unconscious woman. He'd been convinced that it might take days before he got the chance to catch the woman alone and on her own. So much so that when he'd first caught a whiff of her distinctive scent, he'd almost convinced himself it was a maid servant in the peasant clothes at the well and not the one he sought. Only when he'd seen her unusual eyes had he known fortune was with him tonight. Now he'd use the woman to lure the whelp and kill him; afterwards the female would either accept Lamia as her mate and become a priestess of Hecate or die as an offering to the Goddess. Either way Lamia would continue in his mistresses good graces. Drawing a dagger from his belt, the priest made a shallow cut across the woman's palm, smearing the blood on the side of the well, and then binding the hand with a strip of cloth torn from the peasant tunic she wore. ' _No need to_ _make_ _things too easy for the cub_ ' he thought, leering at the woman once again. He repeated the same procedure with his own hand assuring the scent of both he and his victim couldn't be mistaken; when darkness fell, the man-cub would change and Lamia wanted to ensure his challenge was answered, though he didn't intended to leave an easy trail for the interloper to follow. Turning back, the priest cut off a single curl from the womans head, rubbing it along his shaft before dropping the hair amongst the shards of pottery, few ordinary men would fail to answer such an implied threat to his mate and certainly no Kynikoi would, regardless of how wet behind the ears he might be. With the bait laid for his trap, Lamia picked up the unconscious woman and faded into the creeping shadows of dusk to await his quarry.

* * *

Back at the house, Jason was again pacing like a caged lion. Alek should have returned by now with the water, and to make matters worse, the strange tingling itch he experienced last night was beginning to work its way through his nervous system, setting his teeth on edge and his muscles on fire. Hercules watched Jason worriedly, something had definitely happened to the boy; the Jason they knew and loved would have never outright lied to his friends or lost his temper like he'd been doing lately. The burly wrestler feared that whatever happened when the brunette lad had desecrated the witch Goddesses shrine was only going to grow worse; hopefully Pythagoras would find out exactly what was going on and how to fix it before it was too late. "Something's happened; Alek should have been back by now!" Jason growled frustrated. "You have a lot to learn about women" Hercules snorted, trying for levity, as he rotated the spit and brushed another layer of the oil and herb mixture over the meat. "You're going to have to work on your lying skills my friend; otherwise you're going to end up being chewed up and spit out."

Jason scowled at the big man, "What are you on about now?" "The girl you fool" Hercules replied blandly, "anyone with half a brain can see something's wrong with you; then you go making things even harder on yourself by lying—badly I might add, to the one person in the world you should be the most honest with." Jason snorted derisively, "You're one to talk; have you ever been honest with a woman in your life?" "With a tart I'm trying to tumble?—no," the burly wrestler admitted honestly, "with someone I hope to spend the rest of my days with?—yes. Now hand me a platter for the meat so we can get this off the fire before it burns—no sense in both of us being skinned alive by that hell cat you're betrothed to." "Hey! Watch it—that's my fiancé you're talking about mate" the brunette growled holding the large platter steady as the burly wrestler slid the roasted meat off the spit onto it. "So you had only meant to tumble Medusa when you made a devil's pact with Circe?" the brunette inquired archly. "Mind your tongue boy!" Hercules snapped, "I was a fool for trusting that damn witch and it very nearly cost the woman I love her life, see that you don't make the same mistakes I did. A vengeful Goddess will be a lot harder to get around than the Queens insane sister, believe me. And another thing," the big man glowered, "have you stopped for one second to consider exactly how you're going to explain the fact you're going to marry Alek to the Princess Ariadne or visa-versa?"

Jason frowned as he perched on a corner of the table, "I don't have the kind of relationship with Ariadne that needs explaining, I keep telling everyone that but no one listens!" Hercules snorted, "But you've never said anything to that effect to the princess though have you?" the burly wrestler accused. "This is what I'm talking about Jason—not everyone is as emotionally constipated as you are! You can't charge in and save the day left, right and center all while making adoring puppy eyes at a girl like Ariadne and then expect her to assume her affections aren't returned." "Bloody hell!" Jason roared, "Why is it my job to fix all this? You _and_ Pythagoras _and_ Ariadne have all told me enough times that the princess must marry royalty, so how is it my fault if she decides to make me her Prince Charming?" "Because that's how a womans mind works you fool boy!" Hercules shouted back. "It may never make sense, _or_ be fair, but it will _always_ be your fault! Especially with a girl like the princess who's grown up being used to every man around her fawning at her feet!"

Running a hand over his florid face, the big man continued calmer, "Listen, Alek may forgive you straying a bit, after all you never really got anywhere with Ariadne, but under no circumstances should you let the princess find out you're betrothed to another woman; at least not until Minos has married her off anyway." Jason snorted sarcastically and rolled his eyes. Hercules sighed, "Ariadne's intelligent enough to realize Minos would never agree to a marriage between you two, but a woman scorned can be dangerous, especially if she happens to have the power of the throne behind her. Once Ariadne is safely betrothed, _then_ tell Alek the truth and pray Pythagoras can put you back together if she leaves enough pieces" he teased the brunette before sobering, "That's assuming he can figure out the mess you've gotten us into this time of course." Jason glared mutinously at the burly wrestler, "You still haven't told me what Pythagoras and you were talking about this morning before he left" the brunette replied stubbornly, arms crossed. Hercules sighed, how was it that he continually had to play nurse-maid between two grown men? "Pythagoras simply wanted me to keep an eye on you in case you started to manifest any strange behavior or symptoms from your recent bout of blasphemy all right? But so far all it seems to have done is make you a pain in my arse." "Gee thanks mate" Jason retorted, "and here you're always such a joy to be around." "You're welcome" the big man grinned snarkily, "Now go work things out with your woman before she decides to throw you over for someone else, we can't afford to lose a cook like her. Oh and by the way—what's a prince charming?" Jason just shook his head without replying as he rose to head out into the gathering dusk to see what was keeping Alek, ' _trust Hercules to think_ _with his_ _stomach_ ' the brunette thought chuckling.

Jason made his way through the near empty streets toward the well. Most everyone was home enjoying dinner by this time of evening and that's where he wanted to be. ' _I never dared to_ _dream that I'd ever see Alek again_ ' he mused as he wandered along lost in his thoughts and trying to ignore the growing ache in his muscles and the tingling itch running up and down his nerve endings, ' _so is it so bad that I considered another relationship? Was I expected to spend the rest of my life alone?'_ The guilty little voice in his head told him that was exactly what he should have done, after all Alek was willing to die rather than face a life without him. She'd obviously decided there wasn't ever going to be anyone for her other than Jason. ' _Ariadne is beautiful, and kind, and just, but she doesn't have that spark of courage that Alek has that makes her stubborn enough to stand up and fight for what's right—consequences be damned._ ' Jason shuddered to think what would have happened if it had been Alek coming to the rescue of that old man from Heptarian or facing King Minos in his sham of a courtroom. ' _I have to keep her safe—doesn't she realize how dangerous it can be here? She's an anthropologist for Christ's sake, studying ancient cultures was her job._ ' Now he had to not only worry about her ending up being imprisoned or killed for possibly attacking or offending someone in the royal family or the nobility, he also had to somehow keep her and the rest of the city from finding out she was a possible seer.

Jason knew he wasn't far from the square where the well was, because he'd already picked up the scent of jasmine, but it was mixed with a strange mineral tang that reminded him of metal—like iron maybe and there was an underlying sour smell that set his teeth on edge and made his hackles rise involuntarily. A feeling of foreboding slithered its way up his spine and into his stomach. Quickening his pace, Jason dashed around the last corner and skidded to a halt in front of the well. Shards of broken pottery were scattered on the ground and two bloody hand prints were smeared along the wells wall like macabre graffiti. Dropping to his knees, he ran a finger along the smaller of the two grisly outlines; it was most definitely blood, and it was still wet which meant whoever had attacked Alek had done so in the last few minutes. Turning to the other print, Jason examined the size of the mark; it was much larger, the blood less smeared and the sour scent in the air that set his teeth on edge was definitely coming from it. Carefully examining the ground around the well, it wasn't long before he found a lock of hair amongst the broken pottery that had obviously been cut from Alek's head. Lifting it to his nose, Jason snarled as the scent of a rival male assaulted his senses, making his hackles rise and a deep guttural growl to rise out of his throat. The male had left this as a challenge, whoever he was; he'd made sure to leave a message that left no doubt in Jason's mind about what he had planned for Alek.

Dusk had finally fallen while the brunette had crouched by the well, and as the darkness descended the electric tingle that had been running through Jason's body changed to fire. Daylight faded and the first stars began to shine as what had been an annoyance quickly changed to breathe stealing agony. Dropping to his hands and knees, Jason's mind was consumed with the sudden agony of bones popping and reforming, muscles being ripped apart and changing configuration. Liquid fire was pumping its way through his veins and heart; an agonized howl clawed its way up out of his throat before being abruptly choked off as internal organs shifted. Desperately he clung to the image of Alek in his mind; he had to survive whatever was happening to him if for no other reason than to find her. Whoever took her knew she was Jason's love?—mate? and he wanted Jason to know he took her. What he didn't know was that Jason was special, touched by the God's, and someone not to be trifled with especially when it came to the single most important person in the brunette's world. This man would pay for hurting Alek; when Jason found him, he intended to rip him to shreds and drink the blood from his still beating heart. As the moon appeared from behind a cloud, a huge dark brown wolf snuffled around the well before lifting his head and sniffing the air. Its quarry had gone west, away from the salt tang from the sea; lifting its head the wolf loosed a long deep howl before melting into the shadowy nighttime streets, the hunt had begun.

* * *

Pythagoras hurried through the streets toward home, it had taken him longer to research the library's scrolls than he'd thought it would and now Alek and Hercules could be in real danger if what he suspected about Jason was true. There really did need to be an organized system for cataloging information in the city's vast library in his opinion. Dashing up the steps, the ginger haired genius burst through the door expecting to find a scene of mayhem and destruction at the very least. Instead the house was dark and eerily quiet; Pythagoras felt his heart drop as he took in the scene of the banquet that had been laid out on the table as if in readiness for a celebration feast for guests that would never arrive. Quickly crossing to the new curtain that covered the balcony doorway, he ripped it aside only to find the room empty except for a new marriage bed and two large trunks; turning to the door to Hercules' room, Pythagoras glimpsed the big man on the floor not moving. Rushing over to the prone figure, the younger man called his friend's name, shaking his shoulders only to hear a slurred 'Medusa'. ' _Of all the times_ _to be_ _drunk!_ ' Pythagoras fumed to himself furiously as he grabbed a half full jug of water from a small table and dashed it in the burly wrestler's face. "Hercules! Wake up you drunken fool!" the ginger shouted.

"Oh my head!" the big man moaned as he looked at his house-mate blearily. "What's happened? What the bloody hell are you shouting about?" Hercules inquired grouchily as he struggled to his feet. "Jason" the mathematician replied succinctly. "Again?!" the big man growled, "Damn that boy—will he never learn?!" "I highly doubt it" Pythagoras replied crisply, "but right now we have bigger things to worry about. Have you heard of the Stygian Hounds—the Kynikoi that guard Hecate?" "Of course I have, who hasn't? But what's that old tale got to do with Jason?" Hercules grumbled as he eyed the empty wine flagon he'd picked up off the floor. "Everything!" Pythagoras replied, exasperated at his friends' lack of comprehension, "Some say these hounds were once her priests, turned into vicious monsters by the Goddess's powers. Many have written of the horrors that they unleash, many claim to have seen them!" Hercules snorted in disbelief, "Those are just stories to frighten children Pythagoras! You can't really believe men can be turned into rabid dog-like creatures—it'd be insane." "As insane as a love-sick fool getting turned into a pig?" Pythagoras replied looking at the burly wrestler archly. Hercules flushed for a moment before going pale, "What are you trying to say, you can't mean…" he trailed off looking at Pythagoras wide-eyed. The young genius nodded, "I believe that by eating the sacred offering, Jason has been cursed" he replied seriously, "When night falls, he becomes a Kynikoi stalking the streets and devouring anyone who crosses his path." Hercules looked at him horrified, before sinking down onto a stool "Oh no!" the big man moaned. "What? What is it?!" Pythagoras demanded feeling his stomach clench painfully. "Alek" the big man replied desperately, "Jason left to find Alek—they had a tift, and she left to get water from the well but didn't come back. I told Jason he was a fool if he didn't go and find her and work things out."

"You what!" Pythagoras snapped aghast, "I told you to watch and not let him leave!" The mathematician whirled around and headed toward the door. "Where are you going?" Hercules called worriedly. "To find them and protect them since you can't be trusted to do it!" the younger man retorted angrily over his shoulder not slowing down. Hercules dashed across the room and jerked the ginger to a halt, "Protect them?! And who exactly is going to protect you?" the big man said harshly, "You have to find a cure for Jason; I'll go and see if I can find any sign of them as I'm the only one of us that's any good with a sword—luckily it's not a curfew night, so I'll not have to worry about the palace guards at least." "I said protect them not attack them Hercules!" Pythagoras looked at his friend horrorstruck. "I'm not going to attack Jason!" the big man retorted impatiently, shaking off his young friends restraining hand, "but if he's turned into what you say he has, I have to be prepared to at least fight him off enough that he doesn't hurt Alek or another innocent. You know what he's like Pythagoras—he'd never forgive himself." The mathematician was forced to agree with Hercules, Jason could be amazingly self-incriminating at the best of times, "All right" Pythagoras replied reluctantly, "see if you can find them, but don't take any unnecessary chances and if you don't find any sign of them in a couple of hours come back here. We at least know Jason is usually back to himself by dawn, so hopefully he'll head back home once he changes back—providing he hasn't done anything truly awful." With at least a semblance of a plan in place, Hercules strapped on his sword and headed out to investigate the vicinity surrounding the well square while Pythagoras settled at the kitchen table to study the scrolls he'd smuggled out of the library and hoped he could find the answers to keep his family safe.

Hercules carefully worked his way through the narrow streets toward the small square where the well that was their closest source to potable water was, checking each side alley along the way for any available hiding place, but saw no sign of either Alek or Jason. Reaching the square, the burly man examined the broken shards of pottery recognizing it as the jug Alek had chosen to fetch water in. Glancing over at the well, the burly wrestler frowned as he noted a dark stain on the rock used to line the fountain the well flowed up into. Hesitantly running a finger along the stains, he had a terrible feeling that they were bloody handprints, though without a torch or proper light he couldn't be 100% sure. Rising to his feet, he fumbled his way across the square to the only other street leading off it and began working his way back toward home along the streets parallel to the ones he'd already checked, praying both Jason and his beloved stayed safe long enough for Pythagoras to find a cure.

* * *

1.) 1 Hemitartemorion = 1/48th of 1 Drachma (if my maths are correct) wiki/Ancient_greek_coinage  
2.) Tagenias-the earliest form of pancakes, very thin almost like crepes. Made from wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and curdled milk. Originated in the Mediterranian with earliest recorded record dating from 5th century B.C.E


	12. Ch 12--Silver, Cages, & Other Problems

AN: As always it all belongs to the BBC, except my OC's & storyline.

* * *

 **Silver, Cages, & Other Problems**

Alek woke with a pounding headache as the bright sunshine poured through the high barred window of the room containing the cage where she lay bound on the floor. Groggily she tried to recall what had happened last night, but couldn't remember anything past deciding to confront Jason about whatever he was hiding from her. Rolling over onto her back, Alek took in her surroundings, and gave a startled gasp upon seeing a strange looking man coolly observing her from a stool in a corner of the room. A thin blue line bisected the mans' face vertically, and strange runes sprouted out from it like weird cancerous growths. Black soulless eyes regarded her silently as thin colorless lips peeled back from sharpened pointy teeth in a vicious mockery of a smile; wordlessly, he rose and stalked over to the cage. Alek shivered in spite of herself, this man whoever he was, was evil; she could sense it like a sickly green aura surrounding him. Instinctively she realized if she was going to survive, she couldn't show any fear, so raising her chin defiantly she stared straight back into his eyes. "Who the bloody hell are you supposed to be?" she barked insolently, looking the black clad figure up and down as if she were the Queen of Sheba and he a speck of filth on her shoe. "I am Lamia—High Priest to the goddess Hecate," he growled maliciously, "though I suggest you attempt a more obedient tone unless you wish to join your mate on the offering stone. While my goddess would be pleased to receive your blood as a sacrifice, I think I can find a better use for your…talents" he chuckled darkly as his eyes traveled over Aleks' body.

Alek felt cold dread settling in her heart. This maniac was talking about Jason she realized; there wasn't anyone else that would be considered her 'mate', but how could he know that? For that matter how did he know Alek at all? She'd never seen this man before, and somehow she couldn't imagine Jason having any sort of dealings with someone like him; he looked like the type of person who would enjoy making others suffer, so who was he? Forcing her gaze to remain locked on her captor, she replied coldly, "My _talents_ are my own, and neither you nor anyone else makes use of them but by my consent. Now tell me, what have you done with Jason you sheep humping cretin!" The stranger smiled cruelly, "The whelp lives—for the moment at least; but his life is forfeit for his sacrilege against the Goddess Hecate; though if the tracking skills he showed last night are any indication, I may have to lead him to the altar by the hand" he smirked. Alek felt cold shivers up and down her spine; she might have had a mental break when she thought she'd lost Jason, but this man was well and truly insane. Realizing that the longer she could keep this man talking meant the longer Jason and his friends had to find her and the longer she had to come up with a plan.

"What sacrilege? What do you think he's done?" Alek demanded, trying desperately to hide the tremor in her voice. "I don't think, I know!" the man snarled, lunging toward the bars "Your foolish mate stole the sacred offering meat! Now instead of punishing _him_ as he _deserves_ the Goddess has chosen to _test me_ by granting her blessing on the blasphemer and seeing if I am still her faithful hound." Alek snorted in derision, "Oh, so you're upset cuz you're not mummy's favorite? How sad, but I fail to see how letting food rot on an altar when it could feed someone should be a punishable crime. You people, when are you going to learn? Maybe you've never found the answers you've been looking for because _they_ (the gods) just don't care! Now let me out of here, before I really get pissed off!" Lamia chuckled cruelly, "Spirit, I like that. I will enjoy breaking you; but as for ' _Jason_ ', I intend to gouge out his eyes, before I carve his heart from his chest so that he wanders eternity in the dark. As for you, you shall either serve Hecate as her faithful priestess and me as my mate or you shall join him in Tartarus!" he spat. Alek felt hot and cold at the same time, this maniac had to be what Jason was trying to hide from her; apparently bread wasn't the only thing he'd stolen recently. She felt hot rage flood her system as she thought of her beloved being reduced to thieving or starving to death. If it was this bad here for three able-bodied men what must it be for the old, sick, and young? How could any ruler or government allow its people to starve by condoning the offering of foodstuffs to a lifeless statue when so many others were in need? "Know this now" she hissed at the priest, "I serve no God or Goddess that condones murder or requires a people to starve while food lies rotting on an altar; I will see you _and_ your Goddess in Hell before I allow you to harm Jason or anyone else!" For a split second uncertainty flickered in the priests eyes as he watched the eerie silver glow shimmer in the womans' eyes before steeling his resolve, "Then you have made your choice" he sneered, "Your death will only mark the beginning of your suffering!" whirling he stalked out of the room slamming the door behind him. A second door slammed closed a moment later, and silence descended on the house. Alek waited as the tense moments ticked by until she was positive she was alone at last.

Satisfied her captor was gone for the moment at least, she began working her bound hands underneath her enough that she could pass the loop of her arms over her bent legs and off her feet; thankful for the first time that her mum had insisted she sign up for every self-defense class offered in their community. One of the first things she'd learned in her advanced self-defense training was how to get out of simple restraints ranging from rope, or handcuffs to vehicle boots. Once she managed to get her bound hands over her feet and in front of her, she began to work feverishly at the knots with her teeth. There was no telling where the madman holding her had gone or when he'd be back and if she wanted to have any hope of stopping him killing Jason or her she had to be free to fight. The rope was thick and the knots near impossible, but after what seemed like hours she'd finally tugged the rope loose enough that she could work one hand free. Quickly tearing the rope from her other hand, she began working furiously at the restraints binding her legs. Free from the last of the bindings Alek took a few precious minutes to work the numbness out of her legs before cautiously rising to her feet and looking around the room she was in. It was bare save for the cage, a thin pallet in one corner and a single stool in the other. Ignoring those she tried to examine the door and lock of her cell. The bars were way too thick for her to even consider trying to move them, but the lock might hold possibilities. It was large and the keyhole was almost large enough to fit her pinky finger in. ' _Thank God it'd be centuries before anything more than a simple pin and tumbler system was invented_ ' she mused. Even though she couldn't technically see the lock mechanism, Alek knew it was only a matter of slipping something small enough into the lock and working the pins either up or down allowing the tumblers to fall into place and the door would open. Wishing she had either the belt or one of the bronze fibulae from the red and black outfit she'd had on before changing to cook yesterday, Alek felt her frustration and fear ratchet up a notch before suddenly remembering the hair comb she'd used to secure her hair in a twist on top of her head to keep the mass out of her way.

Clapping a hand on the top of her head she let out a sob of relief at feeling the bronze comb still in place, for once being glad for the thickness and length of her hair that had prevented it falling out when she'd been taken hostage. Tugging the comb free, Alek examined it critically. The teeth were plenty long enough to work; the only problem was they were too closely spaced. Unless she could manage to somehow break some of them off, she was going to be back to square one. Bracing the comb between her hands and using her thumbs, Alek pushed one of the teeth as far as it would go before turning the comb over and pushing it back to the opposite extreme. She had to credit Pamphilos with excellent craftsmanship, when she finally managed to break off the tooth nearly an hour later. Quickly stashing it within easy reach in case her lunatic jailer returned suddenly, she set to work on the next one, working feverishly to get a gap wide enough to allow a single tooth to fit into the lock and act as a pick. Night had fallen before she had managed to break off enough teeth to allow the single middle one to act as her lock pick. Before she had a chance to use it however, the mad priest she'd dubbed Rasputin in her head had come back. Alek quickly resumed her position on the floor and held her hands behind her back to mimic being tied up praying he wouldn't notice her unbound feet or the fact her hair hung free. She needn't have worried though as he stayed in the other room which she assumed held the shrine of Hecate as she could hear muffled prayers coming through the door. Time crawled as the continuing litany droned on in the outer room. Alek watched the door tensely, expecting her jailer to burst in at any moment to try and kill her. The moon was barely visible outside the barred window but as the hours of waiting slipped past the muffled prayers coming from the other room blurred into a hypnotic hum that gradually lulled Alek into a relaxed state. She watched drowsily as the moon sank lower, gradually filling in the square of night sky framed by the window until without realizing it, she'd closed her eyes and drifted off into a fitful slumber.

* * *

Jason woke up in darkness with his muscles cramping and a headache that abruptly intensified when he tried to sit up and immediately banged his head against hard wooden planks. It didn't take long for him to realize that the egg sized bump on the back of his head had been caused by Hercules most likely clubbing him over the head with some sort of metal cookware and then tossing him into the secret hidey-hole under the floor. Honestly the big man was worse than that animated chick with the frying pan that Alek had drug him to see at the cinema years ago. Holding his head gingerly, Jason tried pushing up on the trapdoor, but wasn't surprised when it didn't budge; gritting his teeth against the inevitable pain increase to his headache, he pounded on the boards above his head, "Hercules! Pythagoras! Let me out!" silence was the only answer. "Come on! Enough joking around—open up…Hercules? Alek…Ale—" Jason stopped cold as memories of bloody handprints flooded his mind. He and Alek had had a row last evening, (or as close to one as they ever got), and she'd left to fetch water but hadn't returned. He'd gone to see what was keeping her and to apologize for shutting her out. When he'd reached the well though, all he'd found was the shattered water jug and two bloody handprints on the well. After that everything was a blank until he'd woke this morning in a dead-end alley naked and covered in what had to be goats blood since the remains of the carcass was lying next to him.

The next thing he knew he was retching up what could only be described as a hairball made of goat hair and globules of a substance he wasn't willing to examine close enough to identify. After vomiting to the point of dry heaves, he'd crept toward home only stopping in a deserted square long enough to wash off the blood and rinse his mouth in the fountain there. To disgusted to question his second time waking up naked in a strange place, his only thought had been to get home unseen to check on Alek and let Pythagoras figure out what in bloody hell was happening to him. The last thing he'd expected was to be cold-cocked and locked in Hercules' idea of a cupboard. Pounding on the planks above his head again, Jason desperately tried to stay calm. Whatever had happened to Alek last night, he had a sinking feeling it was connected to whatever was causing him to black out every night. He had to get out of this damn hole and find Alek before dark. Gritting his teeth, Jason braced himself as best he could, and then rammed his shoulder upwards as hard as possible in the cramped space. The trapdoor jarred and shivered, but held firm, "Pythagoras! Hercules!" he yelled frantically, ramming his shoulder upwards again as hard as he could. This time the door opened a crack before the weight of the solid oak kitchen table forced it closed again. Jason realized the only way to get out of the storage hole was to figure out how to apply enough leverage to either force the table to slide off the door or overturn it somehow.

Lying on his back and bracing his arms on the walls of the narrow space, he tried to bring his feet up enough that he could either kick the door or force it open by straightening his legs and lifting it enough to upend the table. Unfortunately there was barely enough room to allow him to draw his knees up; no way was he going to get his feet in any position to be of use. Anger and frustration welled up, how could his friends trap him here? Didn't they realize Alek was in trouble, that he had to find her? Working his way back around, he braced himself and hit the door with his shoulder again; he'd just have to keep trying until he managed to get out on his own or until someone came home and let him out. If the latter occurred he fully intended to sock Hercules in the jaw first and ask what in bloody hell the big man thought he was doing locking Jason in the cupboard later; assuming of course the brunette didn't die of heat stroke or asphyxiation first. The small enclosed space had very little ventilation and Jason could tell by the occasional glimpses of sunlight he got when ramming the door that it wouldn't be long till sunset. He was about to give up on getting out on his own, when he suddenly felt the now familiar electric tingle start to zing along his nerve endings. The strength and energy levels that had been steadily waning as the day wore on, suddenly amped back up as if he had drank a half-dozen Red Bulls.

Time was running out, whatever was happening to him was going to take him out again soon, and he didn't have time to waste stuck underneath the damn floor. Tightly grasping his right upper arm with his left hand in hopes it would prevent the shoulder from dislocating; Jason poured every ounce of strength, desperation, and fear coursing through him into one final heave. When his shoulder connected with the wooden door, it sprang open as if he were a jack-in-the-box that had been wound too tight; the kitchen table flipped over with a crash and Jason was free at last. A soft knock at the door had him scurrying to open it, hoping it was possibly Pythagoras or Hercules, perhaps bringing a lost or injured Alek home. Forgetting he was still naked, Jason threw open the door only to find himself face to face with a shocked Ariadne. "Ariadne!" he gasped before quickly slamming the door shut again and frantically wrapping the red himation that had been a part of Alek's outfit around his waist. "You—your friends, they'd arranged to meet me…I thought perhaps something had happened to them" the princess stammered through the door, "They seemed worried about you." "What? About me? Why?" he stammered, finally managing to secure the material around his waist, before opening the door enough to stick his head out "I'm fine" he assured the princess hoping to bring the conversation to a swift conclusion.

Ariadne looked at the brunette slightly surprised; Jason had never acted less than thrilled to see her before, "Are you sure?" she asked coyly, giving him her best wide-eyed look. "Yes" Jason replied shortly, hoping the princess would take the hint and cut her visit short. The tingling along his nerves was swiftly starting to turn uncomfortable, and he knew his time to find Alek was running out; he had no time to dance attendance on Ariadne right now. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" the princess arched a sculpted brow imperiously, unable to conceive of any situation where anyone, especially Jason, would be anything other than pleased to spend time with her. Realizing she probably wasn't going to take the hint without his having to be rude, Jason sighed internally, "Of course" he replied stiffly before reluctantly opening the door the barest bit wider as he automatically turned to check the sun's position out the balcony window. Ariadne moved forward eagerly, ready to play her part as the compassionate royal savior of the city's hero; unfortunately she wasn't going to get the chance as Jason abruptly whirled and grabbed her shoulder pushing her back out the door. "No—no, no, no. I really don't think that's such a good idea Ariadne" the brunette stuttered as he attempted to close the door. His insides were on fire now and the pain in his head was rapidly becoming unbearable. "But I thought you'd be pleased" Ariadne pouted as she attempted to get the door open enough to get inside the house. How would it look if someone recognized the princess of Atlantis standing outside a peasant house begging to be admitted for goodness sake? She did have a reputation to protect after all; as her hated step-mother was so fond of reminding her, "Jason?" On the other side of the door, the brunette young man was fighting to retain a grasp on consciousness, his time was running out, he had to think of a way to get rid of Ariadne, "I-I am, it's just I'm worried for you" he gasped out, clenching his teeth as he bit back a moan of pain. "Worried, about me…why?" Ariadne asked confused, though secretly pleased she occupied so much of Jason's concern.

' _Christ Almighty has she always been this dense or is she just that self-absorbed?_ ' Jason wondered as he felt his temper start to fray, "Yes, it's a..." he coughed and winced as pain lanced through his lungs, "it's dangerous for you." "Dangerous! How—why?" Ariadne demanded, at last beginning to realize Jason wasn't just being shy or embarrassed about her quick glimpse of his nakedness; a glimpse she would be thinking about every time she was forced to endure the loathsome attentions of Heptarian or her viper of a step-mother. She would see Pasiphae and her nephew dead before either of them got any closer to the throne than they already were. While Ariadne had been indulging in her private fantasies of Jason's muscled chest and frankly well-endowed neither regions; Jason was starting to come to some horrifying conclusions about what might be happening to him. His finger nails seemed to be growing into claws before his eyes, and thick course hair was literally springing up along his limbs almost like fur. ' _Claws, heightened senses, and…_ ' "Hairs" the brunette muttered aloud, hardly daring to believe what conclusion his brain had reached ' _In the immortal words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, when all other logical possibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth—I think I'm turning into a bloody werewolf!_ ' "Holy shite!"

"Hares?" Ariadne exclaimed sounding as confused as Jason felt, and startling the brunette out of his thoughts. ' _Blast! Forgot she was here_ ', scrambling to recover the situation, Jason offered the first explanation he landed on, "Oh... Ah, yes, hares. You know, they're like rabbits, but bigger." He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity, but it was too late now, he'd just have to hope he could get rid of the princess before anything else went wrong. "I know what hares are, Jason, but they're not dangerous" Ariadne insisted impatiently as she shoved against the door hard. Holding the door firmly to prevent Ariadne entering, Jason stuck his head out in the last ditch effort to convince the princess to leave, "You'd be surprised—" he began, only to be cut off when the princess threw up a regal hand to stop any further excuses. "Please, I've risked much to come here" she leveled her best imitation of Pasiphae's stern frown, "The least you can do is let me in." Jason sighed defeated, "Sorry" he mumbled moving aside to allow the young woman past him, and wrinkling his nose in distaste as the scent of her heavy perfume assaulted him. The princess swept past him into the house taking in the abundance of wine and foodstuffs as well as the overturned table before turning to regard Jason critically, "I'm confused…" she started. "So am I" the brunette muttered distractedly still regarding the sudden hair growth on his hands. "Well…" the princess began before suddenly realizing Jason wasn't paying attention, and was that a woman's himation wrapped around his waist? "Where are they?" she demanded brusquely, as jealousy rippled through her. "What?" Jason inquired innocently as he hid his hands behind his back. "The hares" Ariadne replied, sardonically, privately thinking ' _the woman whose clothes your wearing._ ' "The…Oh, I-I don't know" he laughed nervously, "Look, Ariadne, you need to go, it's not good that you're here, and it's getting dark..." a sharp intake of breath cut off the rest of his explanation and dropped him to his knees behind the overturned table, as his ribs began to break and reform. Everything was temporarily driven from his mind as the sensation of being torn apart and remade roiled through him. He was drowning in waves of agony and fear. ' _Alek…_ ' the image of her swam through his consciousness and instinctively he clung to it, dragging himself past the pain and fear, with sheer determination and strength of will. He had to survive this and find her; he would not abandon her again.

Dimly he became aware that Ariadne was still speaking, "…ask me for money to ' _help_ ' you, then I'm left to plead for entrance at your door like a common beggar only to discover on entering that you have some woman's clothes draped around you as if you've just come from a porneio…" Jason let the princesses' tirade wash over him as so much background noise as he fought to regain his feet, only becoming aware when Ariadne repeatedly called his name, Jason!—Jason!...Jason?" Coughing and swallowing down a groan of pain that was causing his eyes to water, Jason regarded the princess warily, ' _what had she just implied about Alek?_ ' "I'm sorry, I think I have something stuck in my throat..." he trailed off as another wave of pain stole his breath away. Finally realizing Jason wasn't trying to play hard-to-get, and something was actually wrong, Ariadne paled slightly, "Are you all right?! I'll get you some water." Hurrying over to a shelf, she began rummaging among the clay jars and jugs there looking for water and a drinking cup. Behind her on the floor, Jason's groans of pain had gradually changed to growls of warning. Glaring up at the woman who had foolishly turned her back to him, he slowly gathered his feet underneath him in preparation to attack. This one was fair game, she wasn't pack, her smell was wrong, she smelled like the ones who carried the pointed sticks and worse she was dangerous for the one who was his mate. That one was in trouble, a rival male had dared take her, and this female before him would try to keep them apart as well he knew.

His growls deepened and intensified in his chest; his golden eyes gleamed with rage and hatred as long sharp canines protruded from his jaws and wicked claws extended from his fingers. Just as he sprang, the largest of his pack burst into the room and grabbed him around the middle, bodily tossing him into another room as if he weighed no more than a pup. Jerking the curtain over the doorway, Hercules left Pythagoras to deal with the princess, while he attempted to keep Jason out of sight. "Stay in there and be quiet!" the burly wrestler commanded in a quiet authoritative tone, staring Jason in the eye unflinchingly; the brunette glared back for only a moment before cocking his head to the side and lowering his gaze. Several loud cracks had the boy writhing on the floor as he fought to follow his pack leader's command for quiet, but was unable to completely muffle the grunts and whimpers of pain as the transformation consumed him. The large one must fear the ones with the pointed sticks; maybe the woman he attacked would bring them if she saw or heard him? He must protect his pack at all costs, he'd already allowed a rival male to take his mate, the only female they had in their pack and now his inability to stay strong through his change threatened those left; he had to get away. The voices from the other room told him the youngest male and the leader was trying to placate the female—did they intend her to take the place of the one he lost? No! He would find his female and kill the one who dared harm her and prove once and for all that he was capable of protecting and caring for his family. Rising to all fours, he leapt lightly onto one of the large boxes standing beneath the open balcony windows. The night breeze was blowing down off the mountains toward the sea, and it brought a faint scent with it. The sour musky smell of the one he hunted came to his sensitive nose and a feral growl rolled from deep in his chest. Gauging his jump, he sprang out the window, hitting the ground in a run and disappearing around a corner just as the others reached the window.

Inside the house Hercules and Pythagoras watch helplessly as their friend disappeared from sight. "Now what!" Hercules groaned. "Now we suspend the silver in liquid and get Jason back here to drink it" Pythagoras replied determinedly, as he moved into the kitchen to assemble what he'd need. "Build up the fire as hot as you can," he instructed the big man, "we must melt down the silver first and then mix it with wine and mountain ash." While the burly wrestler worked with the fire, Pythagoras searched his stores of herbs until he found what he needed. Pouring a cup of wine into a small pot, he added two strips of a yellowish-grey and brown bark and a few dried reddish berries before hanging the pot over the fire to heat and steep. Hercules handed him their small smelting kit containing their iron crucible, hook, and tongs then moved two benches over as the mathematician dropped the silver glass and bracelet Ariadne had given him into the smelting pot and hung it over the fire. Taking turns holding the crucible over the fire with the hook, the two listened to the distant howls of the Kynikoi as it hunted the city streets, sending shivers running up and down their spines. "By the gods if we live through this I'm going to chain that blasted boy to his bed!" Hercules growled. Pythagoras sympathized with his large friend, but grinned when he thought of the princess being in their home tonight, "You may not get the chance" he snickered. "I fail to see what's so amusing about this mess" the burly wrestler huffed indignantly. "Alek and the princess" Pythagoras smirked, "if Alek doesn't rip into him for his foolishness in stealing the meat, imagine what's going to happen when she finds out about the princess and vice-versa."

Hercules blanched, "That can't happen—ever!" "Why ever not?" Pythagoras asked confused. The big man regarded the ginger incredulously, "Have I taught you nothing?!" he began. "No" Pythagoras cut in succinctly. Hercules ignored the interruption continuing, "If Alek finds out Jason had been trying to romance the princess, she'll kill him and never cook for us again" the big man said sorrowfully, " _but_ if the princess discovers he has proposed to another woman, it won't matter because we'll all be dead." Pythagoras rolled his eyes, "I hardly think either of them will stoop to murder—" "Ah, but that's only because you're a fool that still has no knowledge about women" the big man interjected shaking his head, "while I am confident that I can defend us against our new cooks attack, I have no illusions about the outcome of taking on the whole of the palace guards." "What on earth are you going on about?" Pythagoras asked gazing at the burly wrestler like he'd lost his senses. Hercules gave a long suffering sigh, "Women guard and defend two things as fiercely as a lioness, their children and the man they've decided to bestow their affections on. Anyone mucking about with that is fair game, including the man _if_ he's stupid enough to get caught straying. Ariadne is a woman who thinks she's in love and she's the princess—with all the power of the palace behind her, so what do you think's going to happen when King Minos discovers Jason's been romancing his daughter while also being betrothed to another hmm?" It was Pythagoras' turn to go pale, "Y-You don't really think…surely she…oh no! What on earth are we going to do!" he moaned panicking. "First we're going to get out of this mess with Hecate" Hercules replied gruffly, as he held the bowl containing the wine and herb mixture so Pythagoras could pour the melted silver into it, "then we're going to warn Jason to keep quiet, and finally we're going to keep Alek and the princess from finding out about one another at least until Minos marries Ariadne off. Aah... Aah... hot…hot!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Pythagoras apologized, quickly grabbing a cloth to protect his hands as he took the sizzling hot bowl from Hercules and set it on the table, "this's not bad, not bad at all—see here…" he pointed to the vellum, "the milkier it looks the more effective it is. Now all we have to do is find Jason and get him back here to drink it." "In a city this big? Are you mad—where would we even begin looking?" the burly wrestler regarded him incredulously. "He's under the thrall of the Goddess, he'll go where her presence is greatest" Pythagoras assured the big man confidently, as he headed for the door "come on, we have to find him." "Should we check the inn first?" Hercules asked the ginger genius, as he followed him down the stairs. "I hardly think a Kynikoi is going to stroll into an inn and reserve a room Hercules!" the mathematician snapped impatiently. "Oi! Mind your tone boy" Hercules growled querulously, "I meant we should check to see if Alek has seen or talked to him since they had their row last evening." "I'd forgotten about that," Pythagoras frowned anxiously, "when did you last see her?" Hercules puckered his brow as he considered, "Last evening, an hour or so before dusk, why?" "By the god's!" Pythagoras swore viciously, startling Hercules into a standstill, "She's been gone a full day and night and neither of us thought to look for her—Jason's going to kill us!" The burly wrestler regarded the young genius somewhat impressed; it was rare for the mathematician to lose his temper, but when he did it was always slightly awe inspiring. "I didn't think it was pressing at the time considering we've had to deal with more important matters" the big man replied defensively, "like convincing the princess to part with a year's wages in silver; not to mention being press-ganged into being rat catchers half the day!" Pythagoras' shoulders drooped, "I know, and I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just very worried—it's very suspicious that Alek shows up at the same time this happens to Jason, and then she goes missing." "You don't seriously believe she had anything to do with what's happened to Jason do you?" Hercules asked as he secured the outer door, "I've never seen two people more besotted with each other than those two." Pythagoras had to agree, Alek and Jason seemed made for one another; perhaps it was all coincidence or bad timing, but the mathematician had a sinking feeling there was more to Alek than just being a gifted seer.

Rounding a corner at brisk trot, the mathematician was only half listening to Hercules' grumblings, when he heard the distinct sound of jangling armor heading their way. Grabbing Hercules' arm, he tugged the burly wrestler over to the waste chute of a large inn and the two quickly hid beneath the straw pile used to cover the compost heap. "They've lost him" Pythagoras whispered, poking his head out of the straw after the patrol had passed by. "How do you know?" Hercules whispered back, popping up next to him holding what appeared to be the leg bone of a large boar. "What on earth are you planning on doing with that?" Pythagoras inquired confused. "Lure Jason into a trap of course! How else do you figure on getting him home—asking please?" the big man replied witheringly. "Oh! Of course—sorry. Come on, we need to hurry, he's heading for the shrine" the ginger genius scrambled to his feet and set off toward Hecate's shrine with Hercules close behind. As the pair rounded the corner leading to the narrow street where the temple was, they spotted the huge wolfish canine that had recently been their friend and house-mate. Upon seeing the creatures' size close up, Pythagoras suddenly found his courage failing him; flattening himself against the wall out of sight beside Hercules, he looked at the burly wrestler helplessly, "What do we do now?" he whispered nervously. "We trap him inside the shrine till dawn, then get him back to the house; hopefully before anyones the wiser" the big man whispered back. Taking a deep breath, the burly wrestler eased out around the corner, "Here, doggy. Here, doggy, doggy. Here, doggy. Come on, there's a good boy." The Kynikoi charged the bone his pack leader tossed into the shadowy confines of the shrine, only to realize too late that he was trapped when the door slammed shut behind him. Barricading the door with ladders, crates, and assorted barrels, the two men settled down to guard the door and wait for dawn.


	13. Ch 13--Not wa Bang, but wa Whimper

AN: Thanks everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed. Your support has meant so much to me. There's only one, maybe two chapters left for this story, but I've already been kicking around idea's for a possible sequel, so if that's something you all would be interested in then please let me know in comments, reviews, or by dropping me a line or two in the old inbox. As always it all belongs to the BBC.

* * *

 **Not with a Bang, but a Whimper**

Alek woke with a start, the outer door to the shrine had been slammed shut with an almighty bang followed by what she could only imagine was a pack of slavering wolves if the sounds were anything to go by. Scrambling to her feet, she grasped the hair comb tightly, allowing the single tooth to protrude between her middle and ring fingers like a crude shiv and waited for her jailors' attack. The minutes stretched out and the snarls and growls coming from the outer room gradually quieted to the occasional snuffle, though there was still no sign of her captor. Alek spent several tense moments having an internal debate as to whether it would be prudent to continue with her escape plan, finally deciding it would be better to go down fighting for her freedom than cowering in a cage like a trapped animal. Decision made she set to work attempting to unlock her cage door, carefully working the tooth of the comb up and down against the tumblers and pins until finally there was an audible click and the door swung open with the slightest of squeaks. Keeping her eyes trained on the doorway leading into the outer room, Alek crept on silent feet out of the cage and over to peep through the Judas window into the shrine proper, immediately seeing why her jailor had been confident enough to leave her to her own devices. A huge dark wolf was snuffling around the altar of the shrine; it seemed to sense someone watching it for it lifted its head and stared straight at Alek through the bars of her cell door. A low vicious growl issued from its throat as it melted into the deeper shadows of the outer room only to go silent a moment later. Alek licked her upper lip anxiously as she moved to the other side of the door to try and spot the animal through the limited viewing space available to her. She needn't have worried about getting a better view as suddenly the wolf reared up against the door as it attempted to fit its muzzle between the bars. An involuntary yelp escaped Alek as she fell backwards in her attempt to get outside the range of the slavering jaws and fangs that were furiously working to try and tear the bars out of the doors window. Retreating back into the safety of the cell in the middle of the room, she quickly swung the cage door shut and was gratified to hear the lock click in place once more. The animal could most likely tear the door into the room apart if given enough time, but it would be truly amazing if it succeeded in getting past the two inch thick bars that made up the cage.

For the first time it occurred to her that she was in a truly dire situation. Up until now she had been fascinated with the fantastical world she now inhabited, yet still with the subconscious notion that it was all somehow not quite real. The analytical part of her brain argued that it was all a dream, time travel wasn't possible, or else the world would know about it. A small part of her was still convinced that she had [if not outright drown] in the pool where Juliet had taken her, she had at least sustained enough oxygen deprivation that her subconscious was playing out this fantasy of finding Jason in a mythological realm where they would always be together. This had accounted for many of her reactions to the things going on around her; if someone like the mad priest who had abducted her had approached her in modern day London she would have promptly pepper sprayed him and then run for her life. Things like hydras, insane witches, minotaur's, and satyrs were the stuff of fairy tales and legends—they had no basis in real life, otherwise her sanity would promptly take a bend that would make her brief encounter with Bedlam seem like a Sunday stroll in Hyde park. Yet as logical and reasoning as she could tell herself she was there was no getting around the fact that the beast trying so desperately to rend the door from its hinges appeared for all intents and purposes to be as real as herself, which in turn forced her to consider that her life was in very real peril if she couldn't figure out a way out of this mess that didn't involve trying to bluff her way past a rabid animal that looked as if it quite possibly outweighed her by at least six stone.

Frantically she considered her options, she could try to fight off the monster with the pitiful excuse for a weapon she had fashioned from a hair comb, try knocking it out with the stool that sat in one corner, or wait until her jailor returned and let the beast in to tear her to shreds; none seemed like a viable option. Glancing at the window set high in the wall, she realized that it was the only option that didn't involve her trying to take on a physical confrontation she would most definitely lose. Quickly picking the lock once more, she grabbed the stool and set it beneath the high window. Clambering up on it, she was dismayed to discover the window was still some ways above her head; standing on tiptoe she managed to just curl her fingers around the bars and lever herself up enough that she could peek outside. Her heart plummeted when she discovered the building she was being held prisoner in backed almost directly onto one of the many defensive walls that circled the interior of the city, and afforded no hope of attracting the attention of any passersby. Easing herself back down to stand on the stool, she slumped down to sit in a moment of defeat, before stiffening her resolve once more to find a way out of her predicament. The beast had once again gone quiet, having given up at last on trying to get past the barrier of the door; Alek tiptoed on silent feet over to peek out of the small window in it into the shrine proper and was surprised to find the animal sitting on its haunches watching the window as if expecting her to appear. As the two stared into each other's eyes, Alek was struck at the almost human expression on the canines face. Perhaps there was a way out past the beast after all. Steadying her nerves, Alek spoke in a comforting firm voice, "Hello boy, nice doggy, nice doggy." She was immediately comforted by the animal cocking its head to the side as if considering her words and giving a brief wag of its tail before returning to its intense vigil of the door. ' _I'm so going to regret this, I just know it_ ', Gripping her shiv tightly, Alek tentatively slid back the latch of the door and prepared to open it, ready to spring back and slam it shut once more if the animal outside made the slightest threatening movement toward her. She never got the chance to find out however, as suddenly a large hand snaked around her face and pressed a sickeningly sweet smelling cloth over her mouth and nose while a muscled arm gripped around her middle. Whatever the cloth was soaked in was powerful, before she could mount any type of defense; her vision began to cloud as darkness crowded closer and her world tipped into unconsciousness.

Feeling the woman go limp in his arms, Lamia promptly dropped her onto the pallet beside the door, picking up the broken hair comb and shoving it into an inner pocket of his robes before moving to look out the small window into the shrine proper. Upon seeing the size of his opponent, the priest felt the first misgivings on the outcome of a fight between the two of them. While he had the benefit of decades of fighting experience as a hound in service to Hecate, Lamia had never seen a Kynikoi of this size before. The animal fairly rippled with sinewed muscle, and was half again the size of Lamia himself in hound form. Coming to a decision, the priest ensured the bolt was securely in place before moving to the stool and sitting down to think. Why chance an unfavorable outcome when he could simply wait for dawn and the whelp to change back to his weaker form. It took years for a hound to achieve the necessary skill to change at will; once Lamia was assured of his victim's weakness, he would overpower him and then make him watch as the priest slaughtered his mate in offering to Hecate before sending the foolish cub to join her in the underworld. Decision made, Lamia rose and once again securely bound the woman's hands and feet before dragging her back into the cage and locking the door. Crossing to the door leading to the shrine proper, he spared a glance out the small barred window at the younger wolf; "Your mate is mine" he taunted the animal, knowing full well that while it might not understand the words, the meaning would be crystal clear, "Your weak, useless, you can't even protect one defenseless female—what possible chance could you have against one such as I? You will never serve the Goddess whelp!" When the Kynikoi threw itself at the door snarling trying once again to tear the bars from the Judas window, Lamia simply stepped back then drawing a silvery dagger, leaped forward and drew a bloody gash across the animal's snout. Leaving the enraged Kynikoi to expend all its energy as well as a good deal of blood on the door, he whirled to face the outer wall containing the high window, pressing his palm against a small faint carving of Hecate that was scratched into the stone; the same secret door that had allowed him to slip silently inside and catch the female unawares slid open allowing an exit into the narrow gap between the shrine and the inner guard wall. Glancing back at the still unconscious woman on the floor, he spared a toothy grin, his Goddess would be doubly pleased with his work come dawn; his place would be assured in the afterlife. Silently slipping out the door, he disappeared into the darkness to gather the essentials necessary for the mornings' offerings, allowing the door to once again slide back into place as if it had never been there.

* * *

On the other side of the shrine, Hercules and Pythagoras had managed to wedge a large ladder over the front entrance and barricade it with all the crates and barrels they could find in hopes of keeping their shaggy friend confined and safe from the guards as well as keeping any hapless citizens who might have been unfortunate enough to stumble across Jason safe from being the new Kynikoi' next meal. Sliding down to sit against the wall facing their makeshift "pen", the two settled in and prepared to keep guard through the night. "Do you think it will hold?" Pythagoras wondered aloud, "It sounds as if he's destroying the whole shrine." "Good riddance I say" grumbled his large friend, "Why in the name of the God's Minos and his lackeys would allow any type of shrine dedicated to the witch goddess anywhere in the city is beyond me. What did they expect to happen dealing with a she-devil like that anyway!?" "Hercules!" Pythagoras scolded, "Mind your tongue my friend lest someone hear you! That could be construed as treason as well as blasphemy. The God's all serve a purpose, don't forget that Hecate also is the guardian of women in childbirth and was responsible for teaching man the first arts of medicine. Like the entire pantheon, she is both good and bad and it is not for us to question their reasons…" The burly wrestler snorted, holding up a palm to forestall what would surely have turned into a very long debate that the portly man had no intention of getting into. "All right, all right, enough! I'm sorry I questioned it, now can we drop the lecture Pythagoras? I'm tired from chasing rats all day and that blasted boy half the night!"

The mathematician frowned but refrained from saying anymore. "How long to dawn do you reckon?" Hercules asked by way of changing the subject and to let the younger man know he really wasn't angry. "We have some time to wait." Pythagoras replied shortly, not quite ready to forgive the sting of Hercules' grumblings earlier. The large man sighed silently, ' _He really needs to grow a thicker skin if he's going to have any hope in the future_ ' Hercules thought to himself. Then again wasn't that exactly what he'd been worrying about earlier? These boys where the closest thing to a family that he would ever have and he knew it; it was his job to make sure they stayed safe for as long as he could. Swallowing his irritation, he tried again. "How much time?" he coaxed, mustering as much enthusiasm as his tired brain would allow. "It's interesting you should ask because I've been thinking that there must be a way to measure the passage of time." The young genius replied, instantly forgiving the earlier sting he'd felt at his friends impatience. "Why would you want to measure the passage of time?" the big man asked bewildered, thinking how exhausting it would be worrying constantly about being too late or too early for something; or worse for Pythagoras to be able to keep track of exactly how long he Hercules spent at the tavern. Realizing that his young friend had been speaking, he tried only half successfully to rouse himself enough to pay attention. "What's that now?"

Pythagoras shook his head and smiled at the older man, "I said that being able to measure time would come in handy for situations such as this." "Oh!" the burly wrestler replied, still slightly befuddled by his need to get some sleep, "You mean like when your friend has been turned into a rabid dog-like creature?" "Well…yes, but also for other more normal situations. For example if one could measure time, and know the length of a day and a night, think how efficient it would be for planning a work day or how long a particular task should take to finish…" the young man's eyes fairly gleamed with the possibilities. "Sounds too stressful to me" Hercules grunted, settling as comfortably as possible on the hard ground and using Pythagoras' lap as a pillow. "Oh, I just find time a...a very fascinating concept." The ginger insisted, "but, what are you doing?" he asked as his large friend seemed intent on using him as a prop for what he feared was going to be a rather long nap. His fears were confirmed when Hercules drowsily replied, "It's time for me to sleep and time for you to keep watch and wake me when it's dawn."


	14. Chapter 14--Whatever the Gods Allow

**AN:** Hey gang, I'd like to first apologize for not updating in awhile. Sometimes life happens & what we'd like to be doing has to be put on hold for things that we have to do. That said, I'd also like to thank everyone who's taken the time to read & review this story. Most of you left comments as 'Guest' so while I can't personnally message you to say thank you, just know your comments were very much appreciated. This is the last chapter of this leg of Alek & Jason's story. What the future holds for them & how it will progress is completely up to you the readers. I've invested some major feels into this storyline & I need to know you guys are invested too. So I'm up for progressing this as far as you the reader interested in going with me. If so then, please, please, please drop me a line & let me know that you want a part II or a III or beyond. Again thank you for reading & allowing me to spin you a few moments of entertainment.

Disclaimer: Atlantis, it characters, etc are all owned by the BBC. Project Hope is the property of Project ; Project Hope is not related to nor does it endorse anything on this site, but is the strict intellectual property of it parent corporation. All similarities to persons, places, events, etc are unintended. I own nothing other than my original OC's & storyline.

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"...this world was like a stage, whereon many play their parts..."

-' _Damon and Pythias'_ , Richard Edwardes

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 **Whatever the Gods Allow**

Alek slowly clawed her way up from the thick lethargic blackness that always seemed to accompany either too much alcohol or a misguided use of drugs. Groaning at the pounding inside her head, she ever so gently rolled over and attempted to sit upright only to realize her hands and feet where once again bound. ' _God dammit! How the bloody hell did he slip up on me?!_ ' She thought sluggishly. Gingerly rolling onto her back, and using the bars of the cage for leverage, she finally managed to push herself up into a sitting position all while studiously trying to ignore the marching band keeping a steady beat inside her skull. A faint sheen of sweat beaded her face by the time the task was complete and not for the first time since finding herself in this predicament she wondered if she'd finally come up against a situation she wouldn't be able to get out of. Closing her eyes and concentrating on deep, steady breaths she tried to achieve the state of calm that her self-defense teacher had always coached her on. Panic was the enemy in a situation like this, it kept you distracted and made you miss things that could help save your life. Once the pounding in her skull began to lessen, she once again took stock of her situation and tried to decide what the next logical move should be.

Realizing the first thing to do was to get out of the damn ropes once more, she set to work on the knots binding her hands and after what seemed an eternity finally managed to work one of them free. Quickly freeing the other hand, she set to work on the ropes binding her feet and in short order was able to stand. A quick inspection of the room revealed her combination hair comb and lock pick were gone, but luckily she'd had the presence of mind to hide several of the broken off teeth inside the small inner pocket of Jason's trousers she'd borrowed. The snuffling outside the shrine door told her the large wolf was still keeping her company. In fact she had been observing it and trying to take stock of her chances of bluffing her way past the animal when someone, (she assumed the deranged priest) had managed to sneak up and roofie her; but how had he gotten in? She'd been observing the wolf through the only door into the room, so unless her kidnapper was a wizard who could poof through solid walls, there had to be some sort of secret entrance into the shrine.

Forcing her concentration back to the problem at hand, she took the two longest teeth from the comb and set to work once again on the cage's lock. Exhaustion, nerves, and fear where making her clumsy however and after dropping her pick for the third consecutive time in less than five minutes, she gave in to the inevitable panic of the situation and had a mini meltdown that consisted of alot of swearing, (that would have surely gotten her mouth washed out with soap if her Nona had been there), and stomping her feet like a petulant three year old. Slumping down to sit on the hard floor, she felt the tears burning the backs of her eyes, as feelings of helplessness and anger swept through her. How had she ended up in this situation? Her life had been going smashingly for once. She'd met the man of her dreams, and they were going to spend the rest of their lives together raising a family and doing what they loved; then Jason had gotten lost while searching for answers about his father. ' _That's not fair though_ ' she reasoned, ' _Jason had a right to answers, and I can't blame him for wanting to find them. So whose fault was it really? His dad's for leaving him? Or the people who made it necessary for Ace and Jason to flee in order to survive._ ' She was a least grateful that they had made it to safety, which was more than could be said for Jason's mother; who according to the Oracle, had either been killed by some insane person practicing witchcraft or had been slaughtered by the rebels who'd overrun the palace during the civil war. What kind of savages murdered innocent defenseless women and children in the name of religion or politics?

 _'The same ones who stage takeovers in the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world on a near daily basis. Or have you forgotten your year as a volunteer for Project Hope* in Macedonia?_ ' the infuriatingly logical little voice in her brain piped up to remind her. The ability of the human race to inflict cruelty and atrocities against one another had been going on since man had first crawled up out of the ooze, so why should they be any different here? ' _But it doesn't have to stay this way_ ' the little voice reminded her. ' _If we really can't get home, then think of the good that could be accomplished here; the people who could be helped with all the knowledge from the 21st century we have._ ' "Right," Alek told herself, straightening her spine and getting what her Nona referred to as her bulldog look, "I'm not going to accomplish shite in this damned cage, so first things first, I'm getting out of here and getting back to Jason. Then once we regroup, we're going to kick some arse!"

Grabbing her improvised lock picks, she set to work once again working the teeth up and down inside the lock until twenty minutes later she heard the satisfying click of the tumblers falling into place and the lock giving way. Stepping gingerly out of the cage, she eased over to peek out of the Judas window to see where her large shaggy companion was. Scanning the inside of the shrine as much as possible, she strained to see if she could locate it, but to no avail. The limited view the window gave left too many places in the shadowy interior that the animal could hide in even given how large it was. Stepping back from the window, she decided her best option was to try and find where/how the priest had snuck into the inner cell and surprised her. She started by flipping over the thin straw pallet in the corner, hoping it would be as simple as a trap door. As per usual, her luck wasn't that good which only left the option of a hidden door.

Starting with the inner wall by the door, she ran her hands over the stone pressing and knocking on any likely spot in hopes of finding any indication of a secret passage. It wasn't until she got to the wall that held the high window she'd tried looking out of earlier that she noticed again the small faint scratching of a three headed woman holding what appeared to be a torch and a key. Running her finger over the carving, she pressed first the key and then the torch, with no success. Knocking against the stone she listened with her ear pressed to the wall in hopes of hearing any reverberation from a hollow place, but the wall remained unhelpfully solid. Letting out an explosive sigh of frustration, she hit the carving with the flat of her fist and was shocked to feel a section of the stone sink inwards a fraction from the rest of the wall. The result was a rectangle roughly a meter wide by two meters high indented from the rest. A thrill of excitement ran through her as she realized she'd found how the priest had slipped in on her. Placing both hands on the secret door, she pressed outwards, only to be twarted again when the door didn't open before realizing there wasn't enough of a gap between the building and the guard wall that ran directly behind the building to allow a door to swing open, so it must slide to one side like a pocket door.

Pushing first toward the right and then the left, she felt a wave of triumph surge through her as finally the door slid open and the narrow gap to escape was revealed. Carefully poking her head out, she checked both ways for any sign of the priest before gingerly stepping through the opening. The city was silent as the first faint streaks of dawn crept over the sky to her right. Knowing the sea and the docks lay east, she reasoned that if she could work her way toward the beaches, she would eventually find the street of merchants and tailors where Pamphilos had his shop and therefore find help. Working her way along the back of the shrine, she carefully eased around the corner and came out into the alley between the shrine and the next building. The alleyway was stacked with barrels and crates of all sizes that she had to pick her way around. Keeping an ear out for any sounds that might indicate either the wolf or the mad priest had discovered her missing, Alek eased around the last tower of barrels blocking her path to the larger street in front of the shrine. Hoping there was still too little light for her to be easily spotted; she sprinted towards the street in hopes of gaining a head start on anyone intent on chasing her, only to sprawl headlong several feet short of the road to freedom. Rolling over to see what had tripped her, she at first took the enormous lump to be another animal of some sort only to realize seconds later that it was two men. Quickly scrambling back to her feet, she snatched a thin pole from one of the barrels, and dropped into a defensive stance ready to attack if necessary.

"Alek?" the smaller of the two men asked as he scrambled to his feet, hands held out and up in the universal sign of surrender, "Is that you?" Dropping her stance, Alek nearly sobbed in relief, "Pythagoras? Hercules? Is that you? Where's Jason—is he with you?" she tried to peer around the two men through the gloom that still pervaded the alleyways to locate the man she most wanted to see. The ginger flushed and glanced anxiously at his burly friend before clearing his throat nervously. "Ah, well…you see, th-there's been a slight…um, problem with Jason…and, uh…" "Pythagoras you're waffling again" The big man growled, "get on with it." Pythagoras flushed deeper while shooting daggers at the big wrestler with his eyes, "Perhaps you'd care to explain then?" he shot at his friend, but only received a negative when the man shook his head and indicated with a silent tilt of his head for the mathematician to continue. Turning back to the young woman still holding the stick, Pythagoras cleared his throat and tried again. "Do you remember the other day when we were discussing Hecate?" he inquired, watching the woman closely, "Well, the thing is, is we believe Jason was cursed when he stole a sacred offering from Hecate's shrine and ate it" the young genius explained indicating the building Alek had just escaped from. "Yes, yes I've been told about that already, by the crazed priest whose had me locked up in that damned place for the last two nights—but I don't believe in curses; I do believe the man's nuttier than a fruitcake. Nevertheless that doesn't explain why Jason's not here with you. Has he gone to get help from the authorities? How did you find this place anyway?" Alek demanded, even as she kept anxiously looking up and down the gloomy street for signs of either her kidnapper or the hoped for authorities.

"He's the one that took you?!" Hercules barked, "Are you well? Did the bastard harm you girl?" the wrestler demanded while the younger man automatically moved toward their new friend to assess for any injury that might have been inflicted. Alek looked back at the two slightly astonished; she'd never known two people to so readily accept a stranger into their midst nor to be so genuinely worried about their well-fare. "No, I'm fine" she assured the two, "Really" she stressed as Pythagoras seemed intent on a full examination right then and there. "He only knocked me out and tied me up, though he's a nasty piece of work. But I am worried about getting away from here before he decides to come back. We need to alert the city guard—he's determined to kill Jason and someone that fanatical is dangerous to everyone not just his target." she finally managed to shake off the ginger haired healer's hands and prepared to head out into the street still armed with her makeshift club. "Alek wait" Hercules hissed, before giving his younger friend a slight shove in her direction, "there's more, and it concerns Jason now." The brunette woman regarded both men silently; dread tying her stomach into knots as she waited to hear the news that the madman had already done her love harm. "You see," Pythagoras stuttered, "you m-may not believe in curses, but that doesn't stop them being true. When Jason desecrated Hecate's shrine, She cursed him to become a hound in her service for the rest of his life; unless we can get to him in time and give him the antidote and our time is running out."

Alek felt a familiar growing dread start to creep over her, "What do you mean by ' _hound_ '" she whispered, the tiny voice in her head shouting ' _wolf_ '. The blonde cleared his throat and continued, "A Kynikoi, or wolf…" The rest of the words seemed to slip past her unheard as she slowly sank to her knees, a look of horror on her face. Suddenly both men were beside her and for a moment feared she was going to faint. Instead, she gripped Pythagoras' arm in a vise like grip, "I've seen him" she whispered, "He's in the shrine now, there…where I was held. He's become a bloody WOLF!" she grabbed the front of Pythagoras' tunic and shook him frantically. "What do we do? What CAN we do!" she all but shrieked, the panic ratcheting up several notches as the bizarre situation added to the stress of being held prisoner over the last forty-eight hours took their toll. Hercules clapped a meaty hand over her mouth and wrapped the other muscled arm around her waist to stop her struggles, "Well we for sure don't need to alert the palace guards!" he hissed in her ear. "They've orders to kill Jason on sight so stop your hysterics woman, before you get us all killed!" Alek's feet kicked frantically in the air for several minutes as the panic attack she was experiencing coursed through her. Gradually though as Hercules held her firmly against his broad chest & forced her to breath in and out along with him, she felt her panic subside as the minutes ticked by until as her body released its stiffened posture the large wrestler loosened his hold before finally releasing her altogether. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look both men in the eye, "OK, I'm ok" she smiled weakly at her lover's two best friends, "so what's our plan?"

Pythagoras gave an internal sigh of relief; he'd never been that good with female hysterics; for once he was glad of his large friends' innate ability around females. "The sun has risen; that means Jason will be back to his human form by now, so we get in there and get him out and home before any of the early morning patrols find us. Then we get the antidote down him and hope it's in time to do any good and that he's strong enough to survive it." Alek frowned at the mathematician, "What do you mean ' _if he's strong enough to survive it_ ' hasn't this been tested before?" "Well…no actually" the ginger genius admitted, "no Kynikoi has ever wanted to change back before that we know of or if they have, it's either never worked or the subject didn't survive as nothing was mentioned about it in the scrolls. All we can do is hope for the best and pray the God's favor our efforts." Alek felt her stomach drop at the likelihood of how very wrong this could go, "So what happens if this 'antidote' doesn't work? What do we do then—are there others we can try?" "I'm afraid not" the young genius shook his head, "if this doesn't work, then…then we'll have no choice but to…" he trailed off looking at Hercules helplessly. "To what?" Alek asked, fearing she already knew the answer. "To put him down" Hercules growled, hating to think about what that sentence would mean. Alek gasped, jerking away from both men, "You can't! He's your friend—this isn't his fault!"

"Alek you have to understand" Pythagoras tried to reason with the young woman, "We'll have no choice! If the cure doesn't work, then Jason will continue to fall under the Goddesses influence. He'll continue to change, and with each change he'll lose another part of himself until there will be nothing but the beast left. He'll kill and consume anyone that crosses his path, even…even friends, even…you." Hercules grunted his agreement, turning to the young woman "Jason wouldn't want that. That boy has an over-abundance of care for what others need at a constant cost to himself and us. No, if and when the time comes…I'll see to it that all the good he's done won't be undone by any curse. I owe him that at least." The large man harrumphed, his eyes glistening suspiciously. "Let's cross that river when we come to it, shall we?" the ginger suggested, "right now we need to get him out of there and home." The three began shifting the make-shift barricade from in front of the door. Once it was clear, Pythagoras dug through one of the many barrels until he found a pair of brown linen trousers their friend might wear so as to not have to walk home nude again. Easing the shrine door open, the trio entered cautiously in case either the wolf or the priest was lying in wait.

"Jason? Are you alright?" Pythagoras called softly as the three edged into the shrine Alek had so recently vacated. A curly mop of chestnut brown curls bobbed up from behind a pillar as the man in question peeked out at his rescuers, "Yeah, I'm here, I'm alright" he answered sheepishly, standing upright at seeing his two friends. Alek stepped from behind Hercules and tossed him the trousers Pythagoras had 'borrowed' from the barrel. "Good, now get dressed so we can get the hell out of here. Pythagoras says he's got a cure, so we need to get home." Jason automatically reached out to snatch the trousers from the air, temporarily forgetting that he was stark naked and causing his two friends to avert their eyes in embarrassment with Hercules groaning an 'Oh Please' in the process. Quickly donning the pants, he ignored the need for haste and took Alek into his arms, "You're here, your safe" he breathed, running his hands over her face and hair. "I was so worried when you disappeared, I tried looking for you but then I changed and when I got back to the house 'someone' locked me in the damn floor cupboard" he stared hard at the burly wrestler, his unspoken glare promising that he'd not forgotten that particular insult. Turning back to the woman in his arms, he continued "I'm so sorry we fought, that I lied to you. I should never have done that. I love you, can you ever forgive me?"

Before she had a chance to answer, an arm snaked around the young hero's throat and jerked him backwards away from the trio of rescuers. Feral growls issued from the enraged priest as he and Jason fought, each struggling for the upper hand. Before anyone could stop her, Alek charged into the fray, beating every inch of the priest she could reach with her club, until with a howl of rage the madman backhanded her across the head with his fist knocking her into a wall to slide limply to the floor like a rag doll. "Alek! No!" Jason cried. Whirling on the priest, the brunette warrior wrapped both hands around the man's throat intent on throttling the life from him. Before he'd the chance, Lamia bared his sharpened teeth and sank them into Jason's shoulder narrowly missing his throat by mere centimeters, and forcing his opponent off balance slamming him into one of the stone pillars with a bone jarring crunch. By now the other two men had gotten over their initial shock enough to join the fight. Hercules charged in like an enraged bull to bodily pull the priest off their young friend while Pythagoras scrambled to grab Alek's' club. With a feral roar, the priest twisted out of the bigger man's grasp, grabbing his throat and bending him over the stone alter with inhuman strength.

"Pythagoras," the burly wrestler gasped, "do something!" "What" the mathematician wavered, fearful of hitting his large friend instead of the priest. "Anything!" the big man cried when the priest released his arm long enough to grab a dagger from the altar stone and try plunging it through the larger man's throat. "Wolfs-bane is said to be useful in stopping wolves, but that's wolves!" The younger man cried, nearly in a dither from panic. "Pythagoras—now!" the muscles of the big wrestler's arms bulged with the effort of keeping the dagger away from his chest and throat. "Mountain ash! Mountain ash is also said to be very effective!" The young genius rattled even as he charged in swinging the club with all his strength at the priests head. Just as he got within reach, Lamia swept one arm through the air with seeming indifference and sent both the club and its welder across the room to crash against the wall and slide limply down next to Jason. Turning back to the large man in his grip, he smiled viciously, "You all will serve as offerings to the Goddess, _heathen_. Tuto didom'epi su, Hekatair!"

"NO!" roared a high pitched unearthly voice, "It is YOU who shall walk the halls of Tartarus priest!" In disbelief the priest beheld the feeble female he'd thought to offer his Goddess in sacrifice. Her long dark hair was swirling around her as if she stood in a high wind, and her eyes glowed with a cold white fire, as shadowy tendrils of darkness seemed to flow and pulse around her before creeping outwards and wrapping themselves around the columns of stone and the statue of Hecate. "My sister neither seeks nor bestows her favor on a faithless mortal who seeks only his own glorification" she hissed at Lamia, "You have crossed my mother's child for the last time priest! Now look you to serve Hades!" With a roar to shake the foundations, she sent the statue crashing down onto the altar and its priest, even as shadowy tendril pulled the burly wrestler out of the way at the last second. Dust & debris hurtled about the shrine causing Hercules & Pythagoras to have to shield their faces momentarily. As quickly as it came though, the shadows retreated & the whirlwind died down. Slumping to the floor, the strange light slowly fading from her eyes, Alek tipped once more into darkness; the last thought winging through her head was that fainting was becoming an annoying habit.

"What in the name of the God's was that?" Hercules panted as he crawled on hands and knees across the floor to where Pythagoras lay rubbing his head where it had cracked the wall when he had been flung across the room. "I don't know" admitted the young genius, "but there is definitely more to her than we first thought, maybe more than she knows herself." The burly wrestler contemplated the unconscience woman in silence for a moment before turning to the younger man beside him, "I say we keep this to ourselves, at least until you can figure out what's going on with her. Jason needn't know about it either; no telling what trouble that boy would cause if he thought something was wrong with her—you know how he gets."

Pythagoras shuddered, what could possibly be worse than be cursed to be a Kynikoi? Silently nodding his agreement, he heaved himself up off the floor with Hercules' help and went to check on Alek while Hercules went to check on Jason. Between the two of them they managed to get the others to their feet though Jason was groggy and none to steady on his feet. Alek seemed to recover fine after Pythagoras managed to wake her again, but seemed to have no recollection of what had happened immediately before, so Pythagoras didn't press the issue. Instead he directed her to act as lookout for the group as with Jason between them the other two men half carried half dragged the brunette man through the dimly lit streets and up the stairs to home. Once reaching the house, they lay Jason across the new bed on the balcony while Hercules made Alek wait in the kitchen and drink a tumbler of wine as Pythagoras fully examined their dark haired friend and administered the antidote. "But I need to be in there with him!" she insisted for the fourth time in as many minutes, trying yet again to rise from the bench by the table. "You need nothing of the kind" the big man growled, forcing her to sit yet again with one meaty hand on her shoulder. "Pythagoras needs to tend to Jason, and Jason needs to conserve all his strength for fighting this curse; not mooning over you like a love sick calf. Besides, you don't look so good yourself." The burly wrestler stared intently into her eyes as if looking for something, satisfied by whatever he saw, he pushed the wine glass toward her yet again, "So sit down and drink that! Pythagoras says it has herbs to help with the dehydration you've gotten from not eating or drinking the last two days, so do us all a favor and drink it while I go check on lover boy."

Sighing in defeat, Alek nodded her acquiescence and picked up the wine glass, frowning at the disgusting smell. "What's in this?" she asked, tentatively sipping at the concoction and nearly gagging. "Willow bark, Yarrow, and Mint" replied the blonde coming into the room, "now please do as Hercules suggests. The sooner you get it down the sooner you'll get to see Jason." Reasoning he had a point, Alek turned up the glass and chugged half the contents in one go, leaving Hercules with a pleased impressed expression on his face. "Not bad for a girl" he smirked; "now finish the rest and we'll come get you when he's ready." Giving the young woman an awkward gruff pat on the shoulder, he rose to follow Pythagoras back out to the balcony room to act as physician's helper; a job he'd become all too familiar with since the brunette boy had quite literally fallen into their lives. "How is she?" Jason muttered in a low voice as soon as the duo had pulled the curtain closed. "Better than you are" the burly wrestler replied gruffly, "Let this be a lesson to you the next time you think about stealing offerings to the God's." "Hercules, not now please" Pythagoras stated firmly to stave off the lecture he was sure the big man had planned for their friend. "Now Jason, here is your medicine. I'm afraid it's going to taste rather badly, but there's no help for it. Honey would simply negate the effects I'm afraid." Holding the cup out to his friend, while Hercules helped support the brunette lad into a semi-upright position, they managed to get most of the concoction down their patient's throat in one go before the mixture quite literally choked him.

Pythagoras sighed when Jason turned his head in an attempt to refuse the rest. "You need to take the lot if you've any hope of recovering. Think of Alek, what would happen to her if something happened to you?" That got the young man's attention, as he nodded and swallowed the rest before collapsing back onto the mattress with a groan, seeming to lapse back into unconsciousness. "Will it work do you think?" Hercules whispered, so as not to alert Alek in case anything went wrong. "So long as I have the proportions right and so long as he's strong enough to withstand it, then yes" the ginger replied absently as he checked Jason's pulse and breathing. "What do you mean ' _if you got the proportions right_ '" Hercules hissed at him, "You didn't say anything about ' _if_ ' before." "It's not an exact science Hercules" the younger man frowned at him, "the cure comes from a nearly two hundred year old scroll, not to mention the fact it gave no reference to calculating amounts of silver to the weight of the patient, so yes there is an ' _if_ ' involved!" "Ugg… stop shouting, please" Jason groaned from the bed as he turned over to face his two friends. "How are you feeling?" Pythagoras asked anxiously. "Like I've been run over by a double-decker" Jason replied honestly, "but that's the least of my worries. Please tell me Alek doesn't know I was a dog."

Pythagoras smiled sympathetically at his brunette friend, "She'll be so happy that you're going to be alright that she probably won't even remember you were a dog." Hercules snorted in disbelief, "She's a woman, and they have memories longer than the God's." The mathematician frowned up at the big man from where he perched on the edge of the bed, "I'm trying to not make him more worried Hercules, and after all it's not only Alek he has to worry about." "Who else does he have to worry about?" the big man asked confused. "The Princess, or have you forgotten who we got the silver from for the cure?" Pythagoras stated matter-of-factly. "Bloody hell" groaned Jason, covering his face with both hands, "so it wasn't a dream? Ariadne was here? That's just bloody brilliant!" "I'm sure you didn't do anything that bad." Pythagoras tried to reassure his friend. "I virtually slammed the door in her face." Jason confessed sheepishly, "I was trying to get rid of her so I could go search for Alek." "That's what friends sometimes do when there's trouble." Hercules replied trying his best to be convincing. Jason simply snorted in disbelief. "Well, it could be worse, considering" stated Pythagoras, "She could have seen you change and considering the palace is still looking for the wolf that has been terrorizing the city that would have been very bad indeed." Jason blanched as the possibilities of the palace guard and Heptarian becoming involved washed over him. Looking at Pythagoras beseechingly he admitted, "I may have...growled at her." "You're done for." Hercules teased the brunette lad. "Well, not if it was a...barrgh!" Pythagoras replied, mimicking the growl of a small animal all the while grinning at his friend to show he was joking. "No, no, it was more like...rrawh!" Jason growls deeply. "Ooh, that's going to be hard to explain." The burly wrestler replied with mock severity. "Yeah, I think on this occasion I have to agree with Hercules." Pythagoras nodded as both turned to their brunette friend and made vicious looking faces at him. "Arr! Raargh!" When Jason saw he was being teased, he immediately threw a pillow at the pair, "Thanks mates but that's not helping!" They both relented and apologized for the teasing, though Hercules in particular seemed unrepentant.

"Can I see Alek now please?" Jason wheedled, as Pythagoras stooped to retrieve the pillow from the floor. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt" the ginger replied, "but no exerting yourself, the effects of the antidote may take a day or two to work completely through your system, and until it does, your likely to still experience some of the symptoms of the curse; especially heightened emotional responses." "Yeah, so keep your ' _heightened emotions_ ' quiet; we're both next door and I for one need some sleep." Hercules taunted the younger man, wagging his eyebrows suggestively at Jason. "Piss off" the brunette growled though his eyes were dancing with their old mischief as his two friends filed out of the room to send in the one person he was most desperate to see. Alek sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed, her gaze sweeping over the dark-haired man critically. "How are you feeling love?" She questioned, gently tracing the bandage wrapped around his shoulder where he'd been bitten. "Are you in much pain?" "No more than I'm used to" Jason replied honestly, "Alek we need to talk, or rather I need to talk and you need to listen." Alek frowned, but nodded as she settled more comfortably on the bed at Jason's feet. "I agree," she sighed, "and I think I know what you're going to say, but I'll listen provided you agree to listen to me also." Jason eased himself up into a more comfortable position; his legs crossed at the ankles and regarded the woman he loved in silence for a moment. "I need you to try to understand that what I'm about to say isn't meant to hurt you ok?" he began, "It's because I love you so much and I can't stand to think of anything happening to you that I've come to this decision. You have to try to return to England Alek. It's simply too dangerous here for you, there's so many ways you could get hurt or killed and I couldn't bear the thought of something or someone like what happened last night, happening again or worse. You have to go home if there's any way possible to do so."

"I agree," she nodded, "but only if you come with me if and when the chance presents itself." Jason blew out a frustrated breath, "I can't do that, and you know it. We've already been over this. Atlantis is where I was born; it's my home, where I belong. I'm needed here; you know the legends, I have to try to save the city from destruction if I can, but you—you were born or will be born thousands of years from now. In a place without monsters, and magic; where there's modern medicine, plenty of food, and your family. Don't you miss your mum and Nona?" "That's not bloody fair Jason, and you know it." She retorted standing abruptly and pacing the small space around the bed before whirling to face him. "Of course I miss my family, and I think you're forgetting you have family there too that miss and love you. Besides, how do you think you're going to 'save' this place? And why the hell is it your job to try? Why doesn't this oracle friend you're so fond of do something, like…oh—I don't know, maybe warn the people who killed your mother to take over this place that there's danger!" The brunette warrior's brows drew down into a thunderous frown, "What do you mean, ' _killed my mother?_ '" he asked quietly. Alek stopped her pacing to stare at him in horror, before once more dropping to sit beside him on the bed. "Oh Jason…oh, I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have said that. I thought you'd understood when I explained about Mac the other day. I'm so sorry love, that was cruel and unnecessary and I apologize truly I do." Jason reached over and took her hand in his, running his thumb over the crescent of his mother's ring on her hand. "I know you didn't Alek, and there's nothing to apologize for—at least from you. Tell me everything Mac told you again, all of it—I have to know what I'm up against."

Alek took a deep breath, and launched into everything Mac had been told by Ace as well as what he and Alek had been able to piece together. An hour later, the two sat in silence as each contemplated what they hoped and feared the future might hold. "So they have discovered the proof of an ancient city and that there was a natural disaster of some type in western Greece?" Jason finally roused himself enough to ask. "Yeah," nodded Alek, "the Achaean government isn't keen on any outside entities being involved yet, but Mac was able to pull some strings and get us pretty close to the dig site on the coast. Apparently this whole section of the peninsula was effected, and Atlantis isn't (wasn't) the only place to suffer. The seer that led me to the cave that got me here said that there was another city called Helike (Helios to the ancient Greeks) that was also destroyed when the entire western shelf sank because of a massive earthquake and tsunami." "Shite," Jason muttered, running his hand through his curls before looking up at Alek once more, "but still, how does all this affect _me_? What has it all to do with me and _why_ did it cost my mum her life and force da* to have to run?" Alek scooted closer on the bed and cupped the side of his face in her palm. "I'm not sure it is related to your mum and da Jason. I think it's more likely simply a coincidence that there was a political takeover at the time (apparently that is a frequent thing in these times) and that somehow your father was lucky enough to manage to get away. Though I don't think even Nona would believe he knew where the two of you would end up." She carressed her thumb across his brow to smooth out the frown on his face before continuing, "Whenever—whatever happens to this place, it's _nothing to do with you_. It's the result of a natural disaster, and no one can either cause or avert a natural disaster love…not even you."

The dark haired man shook his head disbelievingly, "Then why does the Oracle keep seeing me save the city, why is she convinced I'm the only one that can stop it?" "Have you been down into her sanctum Jason? Do you realize what's coming up through those vents?" she questioned him. Jason nodded, "I've been there several times, but what's that got to do with anything?" Alek huffed in frustration, "Did you forget everything you learned from our world when you came here?" "No, but as nothing from there can have any practical applicability here, I don't tend to rely on it much." he told her honestly. Alek frowned, "You're smarter than that Jason, and you have to know the gas coming up from those natural vents has a hallucinogenic effect on anyone spending longer than a few minutes in that room. She's not having real visions! She's just _drugged out of her mind_ most of the time and it's playing out her own fears." Jason still wasn't convinced, before he'd come to Atlantis that first day, the Oracle had never laid eyes on him before—and what about the Minotaur? A man just didn't turn into something like that without some sort of real magic being involved; and besides it had known Jason's name too and knew that he Jason was the only one that could break the curse. Then there was Alek herself, if science was going to explain everything, how did it explain her arriving here and more importantly how was she to get back home. Jason said as much and to her credit, Alek wasn't able to explain away all the things both of them had seen or experienced since arriving in this weird place.

"Maybe its two fold" she pondered aloud, tapping one slender finger nail against her lips as she ran every scenario she could think of through her mind, "What if everything hinges on the both of us?" "What do you mean?" Jason asked suspiciously. "Well think about it," Alek reasoned as she started fiddling with her engagement ring, "You get told that it's up to you to save this place from getting destroyed by the Gods' right?" "Yess…" replied the dark haired man, immediately suspecting he wasn't going to like where this train of thought could lead. "According to Nona, mum, and apparently Nyx herself, I'm a descendant of one of the Furies—so wouldn't it stand to reason that if a bonafide Goddess was willing to expend the time and energy on sending me _back here_ to find you, instead of simply _bringing you_ home, then that must mean I have some role to play in this whole mess? Maybe you're fated to try and save Atlantis, and maybe I'm fated to save you. I mean if I'm hard-wired into divine DNA there's got to be a reason for it doesn't there?"

"That's what I'm bloody well worried about Alek," Jason replied letting out an explosive sigh, "I can't risk you getting hurt here. Do you have any idea just how many times our lives have been in real danger since I arrived here? It's on a near weekly basis. I wasn't kidding when I said there were a thousand different ways you could wind up dead. Disease, famine, monsters, guards…sacrifice! I can't guarantee that I could keep you safe, so I'd rather lose you to going back home as to some ancient pestilence there's no penicillin for or to some stupid rule or law that some noble decides you've broken that could quite literally cost you your life." "Oh stop it Jason! Stop being so bloody over-dramatic." Alek insisted, feeling herself beginning to lose patience with him for the second time in as many days. "There's no damned guarantee of tomorrow for anyone! London isn't a bit safer than Atlantis—sure some of the threats may be different, but there's just as many of them. No I might not have to worry about monsters and magic, but there is still disease, still maniacs with guns, and bombs, and weapons that make swords look like Nerf toys. Hell, I could walk out the door and get hit by a bus, die of cancer, or Aids, die in a plane crash, car crash, train wreck! Get mugged, raped, or murdered; the list is never ending. Nowhere in 'our' world is any less dangerous for _anybody_ than Atlantis, it's just a different set of possibilities." Jason sighed, he knew she was right, and he knew he was being unreasonable, but every time he thought of her being hurt, of losing her forever, his guts twisted like a sword was being plunged through them. "All right," he conceded, "so what's the plan?"

Alek was pensive for a moment, before finally coming to a decision. "We need to start gathering information." She replied decisively, "we need to figure out exactly _when_ on the timeline we are now and try to calculate how much time there is between now (here) and when (there) the probable disaster did (will) be likely to hit. I also think we need to let your flat-mates know exactly what's going on." "No!" Jason gasped, automatically trying to jerk upright before the burning pain in his guts reminded him that he was in no shape to be getting over excited at the moment. "We can't, it's too dangerous, and it'd be like that movie we watched about the butterfly effect. There's no telling what we would change or what the effects would be or how far it could affect history. We could set off something that changed the whole world forever." "How do you know we haven't done that already just by coming here?" Alek reasoned, "How do you know your dad didn't just by going to the future from Atlantis? We could sit here and ' _what if_ ' ourselves to death, but I for one don't think it's right to withhold information from the people you call family about something so important and that has such dire probable consequences on other's lives."

"We can't just shout things from the street willy-nilly though. It'd likely get us arrested and thrown in prison if not outright killed." Jason argued. "Well of course we can't do that," Alek scolded, "it'd be like yelling ' _fire_ ' in a crowded cinema. I do think however that it would be safe to tell your friends at least. Pythagoras is a genius after all and could probably work out some equation for establishing how long we've got to try to either avert or get out of the path of whatever is coming." "What about everyone else?" Jason asked her quietly, "There's over twenty thousand people in the city and outlying farms alone, that doesn't take into account the villages and farms between here and Helios which according to the research Mac found will be doomed as well." Alek regarded the man she loved more than anyone else in her life including her mum and Nona, and knew he'd never accept that there might not be a way to save everyone. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said, once more stroking the side of his face, "but I promise you if there's any way of warning the people in time, or saving as many as we can, that I will do everything in my power to help you make that happen."

Jason tugged her down to lie beside him on the soft mattress, wrapping his arm around her shoulders so that she could rest her head on his chest. Stroking his fingers through the long silken tresses that fanned out over his arm, he relished the feel of her body against his once again. It was as if a piece of himself that he'd not realized was missing had finally been restored. He just felt whole and right for the first time since going down in the sub. "We'll face whatever's to come together then." He murmured into her hair. Raising her head to stare into his hazel eyes she nodded silently, sealing the bargain with a kiss before resuming her place beside him. Sometime later when Pythagoras scratched at the curtain to tell the couple dinner was ready, he found them sound asleep wrapped in each other's arms until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Noting the contented smile Jason wore even in sleep, Pythagoras quietly closed the curtain, leaving the lovers to sleep in peace for however long the Gods saw fit to give them.

Το τέλος

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*Project Hope (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is an international health care organization founded in the United States in 1958 by Dr. William B. Walsh. Project Hope works to achieve sustainable advances in health care around the world by implementing health education programs and providing humanitarian assistance in areas of need around the globe. More information for Project Hope can be found at:

Da* is a colloquial form of _dad_ most often heard in Ireland, Scotland,  & the North Country of England.


	15. Chapter 15--Addendum

Furies Promise

 **Addendum**

AN: I'd like to thank everyone who's taken the time to read and/or review this story. I have received messages from several of you asking if there's going to be a sequel to this story and I'm happy to tell you there will be. Unfortunately unlike other authors, my muse refuses to allow me to post anything until the story is fully roughed out. I hope to have at least three parts to this Furies-verse, and I'm frantically trying to finish the next part. I can't provide any other detail than that as I've learned the hard way to not try to force these things as it always turns out wrong. Hopefully you all will still be interested in Alek and her journey when the second part finally comes out. Again, thanks for all the lovely reviews, and I hope followers.

Yours Sincerely,

Asteross


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